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Putin, Netanyahu discuss case of Israeli citizen jailed in Russia

The 25-year-old Israeli was apprehended at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport on April 9 on the charges of drug possession
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and Russia's President Vladimir Putin during a meeting at Bocharov Ruchei residence, September 12, 2019  Sergei Bobylev/TASS
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and Russia's President Vladimir Putin during a meeting at Bocharov Ruchei residence, September 12, 2019
© Sergei Bobylev/TASS

MOSCOW, October 21. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has discussed the case of Naama Issachar, an Israeli national jailed in Russia on the charges of drug possession and smuggling, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during Monday's phone call, Kremlin Aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters on Monday.

"This issue has been in the public eye, and it has been discussed to a certain extent," Ushakov said.

The office of the Israeli PM informed earlier that Netanyahu was keeping an eye on Issachar’s case and had discussed the matter with Putin during their meeting in Sochi on September 12 and over the phone on October 7.

On October 11, the Khimki City Court in the Moscow Region sentenced Issachar to 7.5 years in a standard regime penal colony on the charges of drug possession and smuggling. Issachar, 25, was detained at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport on April 9 when she was in the airport’s transit zone before boarding a connecting flight to Tel Aviv after arriving from New Delhi. The airport’s security guards found 9.6 grams of hashish in her luggage. Issachar pled guilty to drug possession but denied smuggling charges.

On Monday, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that if the Israeli government addresses Moscow with a request regarding Issachar, the Russian president will consider it and make a corresponding decision.