The family of an Israeli woman imprisoned in Russia has announced plans to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, but this is largely symbolic and intended to put pressure on Moscow. • And also: The fate of an American prisoner in the Russian prison system reveals the bleak possibilities for Issachar

• Naama Issachar during her appeal // Photo: IP

Rejecting the appeal of Naama Issachar, the Israeli young woman imprisoned in Russia, after being caught with a cannabis, did not break the young woman's and her family's determination to turn to any possible archives for the purpose of getting her released or penalized.

Yesterday, the young woman's mother, Yaffe Issachar, told media outlets in Israel that during her visit yesterday her daughter asked her to add and appeal to higher courts in Russia and, if possible, reach the Supreme Court.

Issachar told her mother that for her, the neglect of the appeal is like a crime. At the same time, the family plans to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, a body that serves as a platform for individuals and states to take action for human rights violations.

The thought behind the move, which holds no legal significance in Russia, is primarily to continue to exert international pressure on Moscow to ease its sentence or release the young woman altogether.

Cruel use of the judicial system

A case that sheds some light on Russian authorities' conduct against foreigners was published last month in the United States. The case of Gailan Grandstaff, an American citizen living in Moscow, reveals how Russia's legal system has turned into a weapon against foreigners.

Grandstaff was arrested in 2017 in Moscow after ordering a special detergent from China, designed for iron surfaces. Grandstaff, who suffers from Crohn's disease, wanted to clean his home kitchen well in order to reduce the stomach pain and infections associated with the disease.

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In an interview with the American News Network, Grandstaff tells how he was arrested, was held in custody for a long time only to realize he was charged with possession of drugs, due to a chemical found in the detergent he bought. Contrary to Yishker, Grandstaff was never convicted, but was held in custody. His lawyers were not allowed to see him and the hearings in his eyes were set on dates and times when his representatives could not come.

Law enforcement system used as weapons, police in Russia // Photo: Reuters

Grandstaff was subjected to ongoing abuse at the prison where he was being held. He was denied much needed medical treatment, the heating in the cell where he was kept did not work and he received food that did not fit his condition. Finally, in a surprising turn of events, a judge decided that there was a problem in suing him and ordered him released.

Now the American citizen is stuck in Moscow, with no possibility of leaving the country but also without a visa and the ability to work, awaiting a final sentence in his case, in a country where the proportion of winners in legal proceedings is less than 0.46%. The Russian judiciary uses the regime many times to exert pressure on foreign countries and to hold "bargaining chips" in the face of rival countries.

In a country where the prison system is one of the world's toughest and the judiciary gives little or no chance of justice, a simple legal case can become an endless international saga.