Naama Issachar, the Israeli-American who was sentenced to 7.5 years in a Russian prison on charges of “drug smuggling” and was later pardoned by Russian President Vladimir Putin, publicly spoke about her ordeal for the first time on NCB News on Wednesday.

In 2019, Issachar was awaiting a connecting flight in Moscow to Israel from India when authorities discovered a small amount of marijuana in her luggage, which she said was not hers.

Issachar said her main motive for speaking out now is the case of WNBA star Brittney Griner. Griner has been detained in Russia since February after cartridges containing cannabis oil, which is illegal in Russia, were found in her luggage at the airport in Moscow. Like Issachar, it’s believed that Griner is being used as a political pawn.

Issachar said that she was held in cells with up to 40 women and was provided with food only. Other basics, even toilet paper, were not provided, and she relied on her mother to bring her those items. She the other prisoners also relied on others to bring them water as the water from the sink tasted bad. However, fortunately, she was never abused.

She said that even when she heard she was sentenced to seven and a half years, she never believed it would actually happen because she was aware she was being used as a political pawn. “It made no sense,” she said. “I saw the judge many times and I could tell he was being told to say stuff.”

Issachar said she kept herself busy by trying to learn Russian and keeping a gratitude journal. She tried to remain positive by befriending some of her cellmates and always thanking the prison guards.

When asked what message she would send to Griner, Issachar said, “Try to smile. It helps even if it seems like it doesn’t. It really helps.”

” I think there’s so much power in what we train our minds to think. There was something that I read, and it really changed everything that I thought. It was a quote that said if you can’t change anything else, you can choose to change your mind.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)