International travel, I better bring my drug stash. She chose poorly.
That’s true but now that is a sort of international incident.
Netanyahu believes he might use his leverage to free her but the problem is he is not a side of the case and his appeals aren’t even to trigger the review of conviction.
The girl basically has four ways out:
1. To serve the sentence which seems like okay with her but not nice for Netanyahu.
2. To have conviction overturned which is not going to happen because she is indeed guilty.
3. To have a parole but Russia has some weird system of early release. The terms of parole regarding to a felony like drug smuggling demands inmate serving to less than half her term before it is ever considered. Then the camp the inmate is serving term in has a right to sue the government in court for expelling the inmate from colony. The lawsuit usually consist the description of acts of the prisoner proving repentance and evidence to it. Usually it is a proof of paying a compensation to a victim, reading lectures to other prisoners about the benefits of lawful lifestyle, church attendance, fulfilling labor quotas and so on. If the lawsuit is okay and nobody objects the judge grants early release and the camp kicks the inmate out.
Repentance is the key element in it. No person arguing a sentence is eligible for parole so it doesn’t fit.
4. Presidential pardon. President generally might pardon everyone. Repentance is presumed but it is not legal requirement as in the previous situation. Netanyahu is not a person who are required to plea before Putin on it unless Netanyahu himself wants to be pardoned. To ask Putin for pardon is the easiest way out for a dolt but for some reason she it not doing. I think she is somehow hijacked by the left for a few reasons. First thing she wants to become a sort of social justice warrior for legalization of drugs. Secondary objectives are to portray Putin as a tyrant and Netanyahu as weakling.