An Israeli-American woman was sentenced to 7.5  years in prison by a court in Russia on Friday after border police discovered 10 grams of hashish marijuana in her carry-on bag during a layover. She was found guilty of alleged ‘drug smuggling’ despite the fact that she wouldn’t have even entered Russia. That’s because she was there for a mere stopover during a connecting flight back to Israel. Additionally, she claims that the drugs aren’t even hers raising suspicions of a set-up.

Issachar, 26, has been detained in Moscow for the last six months reports TOI. Her unusually harsh sentence has been condemned by Israel’s foreign ministry.

However, recent developments are revealing that Issachar is being held as a bargaining chip by the Kremlin. That’s because Aleksey Burkov, a Russian computer specialist, who was arrested in Israel in 2015 at the request of Interpol for hacking, is facing extradition charges to the US for his activity. Burkov’s family contacted Issachar’s family and urged them to offer a prisoner exchange.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin told Naama’s mother, Yaffa Issachar, that he was “doing everything” to secure her release, according to a TV report. Yaffa also said that her daughter could be freed “in days” if Israel “acted right”.

The disproportionate sentence was handed down despite a “personal” plea by Netanyahu to Russian President Vladimir Putin for leniency. In Israel, a petition for Issachar’s release has been circulating on Social Media with many calling on all Israelis to boycott travel to Russia, even for a connection flight.

Arutz 7 reported that right before her arrest, Issachar was recorded in a phone conversation with her friend saying: “”Listen, apparently I’m in much bigger trouble than we hoped. I don’t understand and I don’t know. It feels like a movie.” The conversation ended with her sating: “I’m lost. Police, they’re taking me.”