Arutz Sheva Staff, 01/01/20 16:00

Backtracking on move to place Israeli drug-smuggler in remote prison, Russia transfers Naama Issachar back to Moscow.

The Israeli Consulate in Moscow on Wednesday afternoon updated Yaffa Issachar, the mother of Naama Issachar, that her daughter is being transferred back to the Moscow prison she has been held in since April.

On Tuesday evening, Naama Issachar was been transferred from Moscow to a remote prison under poor conditions. In the new prison, her belongings – including warm clothes and books – were taken from her, and her mother was banned from visiting and sending letters.

On Wednesday morning, there was talk of removing Naama to an even more remote prison.

However, Russian authorities instead chose to transfer her back to Moscow.

Naama Issachar was sentenced to 7.5 years in a Russian prison for possessing 9.5 grams of marijuana while passing through a Moscow airport.

Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu warned that Naama Issachar’s release may take time to orchestrate and is not expected to occur soon.

In October 2019, Naama asked her mother told Galatz, “Mom, why do I need a pardon? That means I’m a criminal and I’m not.”

However, though she claimed to have “no idea” how the drug got into her bag, Naama was recorded telling her friend that she’s “in much bigger trouble” than the two had hoped for.She has also claimed that she never confessed to the smuggling attempt.