BAKU — President Ilham Aliyev issued a pardon on Wednesday for French citizen Martin Ryan, who has been serving a ten‑year sentence for espionage. The decision came a day after the European Union removed sanctions on Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, a development that some diplomats said was influenced by Baku.
Background on the pardon
Ryan was arrested in December 2023 and charged with gathering secret information about Azerbaijan’s military cooperation with Turkey and Pakistan, as well as allegedly recruiting French‑speaking Azerbaijanis for French intelligence. Prior to his arrest, he worked for a food‑import company that also provided consultancy services in Azerbaijan.
EU sanctions delisting
The EU’s decision to delist Usmanov – and fellow Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman – marks the first time the bloc has removed sanctions on members of Russia’s billionaire elite who have not publicly condemned the war in Ukraine. The move exposed divisions among EU member states, with some hoping a new Hungarian government would foster a more unified stance toward Moscow.
Ukraine condemned the delistings as “shameful and unjustifiable.” The sanctions, imposed in 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, included travel bans, transaction restrictions and asset freezes.
Allegations of pressure
Three European diplomats told Reuters that France had privately suggested Baku was using the Usmanov case to pressure Paris over two French citizens detained in Azerbaijan. French weekly Challenges identified the second detainee as Anass Derraz, an employee of French water‑management firm Saur, who was sentenced to 12 years on corruption charges in 2025 and was not pardoned.
A senior Azerbaijani diplomat rejected the pressure‑campaign claims as “categorically unfounded,” stating that Baku openly supported Usmanov’s removal from sanctions lists but denied any attempt to influence Western decision‑making.
Broader context
Relations between Azerbaijan and France have long been strained. France maintains close ties with Armenia, Azerbaijan’s regional rival, hosts a large Armenian diaspora, and supplies arms to Yerevan.
According to Aliyev’s office, the pardon of Ryan was part of a broader clemency that included 14 Azerbaijani citizens, two Turkish nationals, one dual Russian‑Israeli citizen, and one Pakistani citizen.
While the EU’s delisting decision and the Azerbaijani pardon are separate actions, the timing has fueled speculation about diplomatic maneuvering. Both developments underscore the complex interplay of sanctions policy, regional rivalries, and the treatment of foreign nationals in Azerbaijan.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
