Israeli Naama Issachar gestures during an appeal in a Russian courtroom. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr.)
A Russian court turned down an Israeli tourist’s appeal of her prison sentence, despite testimony that called into question whether her alleged confession was voluntary.
By World Israel News Staff and AP
Naama Issachar was arrested in April at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, where she was transferring flights while traveling from India to Israel.
Russian authorities said marijuana was found in her luggage. Issachar was later sentenced to 7.5 years in prison.
According to a Ynet report, when the judge noted that the 26-year-old had partially confessed to the original charges of drug possession and smuggling, Issachar responded that she had never admitted to those charges.
On Thursday, she told the court she wasn’t provided with a translator or a lawyer after being detained, when she was asked to sign her confession. This would mean that she did not understand its contents, and she maintained that it was possible that the confession was forged.
Despite this testimony, the court let her sentence stand.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to pardon Issachar.
The EU unveiled a massive Gaza rebuilding initiative, just one day after a UN official…
Israel's military will build three outpost settlements in northern Gaza on the ruins of Israeli…
Israeli archaeologists have uncovered a series of rare Second Temple-era artifacts at the Ancient Shiloh…
Riyadh reportedly expressed willingness to join Abraham Accords and normalize ties with Israel - but…
The renewed missile fire and interception ended four years of truce between the kingdom and…
The president has previously said passage through the Strait of Hormuz should be free of…