Imprisoned Israeli's appeal delayed for a week by Russian authorities
The appeal was delayed following her request to attend in person rather than through video.
By OMRI RONYaffa and Naama Issachar(photo credit: Courtesy)
The court appeal of Naama Issachar, imprisoned in Russia over drug trafficking charges, was postponed for a week by the Russian authorities on Thursday.Issachar had requested to be present in the courtroom, rather than through video link, after she claimed not to have received any translation and therefore could not understand what is going on.Yafa Issachar, mother of Naama, is in Moscow for the start of the court appeal. She is still hopeful that her daughter will be released from custody.Naama was arrested on charges of possessing a small amount of drugs in her checked baggage, for which she received a seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence. The severe sentence for the felony, which usually amounts to nothing more than a fine, is speculated to be connected to the arrest of Russian hacker Alexei Borkov, who was imprisoned in Israel and recently extradited to the US.Yafa said on radio on Thursday morning that she was optimistic that the outcome of the appeal was not already a foregone conclusion. She noted that the Israeli government was involved, hoping it would give the appeal more weight, and was told from Jerusalem that they are taking care of it.When talking about Putin, Yafa said that she knows he was informed by Foreign Minister Israel Katz and that it came up, though no response has been received from the Russian premier.
