Azerbaijan Pardons Frenchman After EU Drops Sanctions On Russian Billionaires

Azerbaijan has pardoned French national Martin Ryan, who was serving a 10-year sentence for espionage, alongside 19 other prisoners. France welcomed the move as a humanitarian gesture following negotiations with Azerbaijani authorities. The pardon came a day after the EU removed Russian billionaires Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman from its sanctions list. European diplomats have reportedly linked the developments, suggesting Baku may have used Usmanov’s sanctions status to pressure France, although Azerbaijan denies the claim. Another French national, Anass Derraz, remains imprisoned in Azerbaijan.

ALIYEV PARDONS FRENCH NATIONAL

Azerbaijan has pardoned French national Martin Ryan, who was serving a 10-year prison sentence after being convicted of espionage, in a move that has added a new diplomatic dimension to relations between Baku, Paris and the European Union.
President Ilham Aliyev included Ryan among 20 people granted pardons on Wednesday. The decision came one day after the European Union removed Russian billionaires Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman from its sanctions list.
Azerbaijan's presidential office said the pardons were based on factors including the prisoners' personal circumstances, health, family situations, the nature of their offences and their conduct while serving their sentences.

FRANCE WELCOMES RYAN'S PARDON

France welcomed the decision, describing it as a humanitarian gesture and saying it was the result of sustained dialogue with Azerbaijani authorities.
Ryan, who also holds British citizenship, was arrested in December 2023 and later sentenced to 10 years in prison.
French authorities had rejected the espionage allegations against him and called for his release, arguing that he had become caught up in deteriorating relations between France and Azerbaijan.
Reports indicate that Ryan has now been released and was expected to travel to France.

RYAN DENIED SPYING ALLEGATIONS

Azerbaijani prosecutors accused Ryan of collecting information about the country's armed forces and its military relationships with Türkiye, Iran and Pakistan.
He was also accused of gathering information about companies connected to Russia and China.
Ryan denied the allegations, while France questioned the proceedings and said the charges were unfounded.
His case had become part of a wider diplomatic dispute between Paris and Baku, whose relations have deteriorated in recent years, particularly over France's support for Armenia.

EU REMOVES USMANOV AND FRIDMAN FROM SANCTIONS LIST

The European Union on Tuesday renewed its Russia-related sanctions but removed two prominent Russian billionaires, Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman, from the list.
The decision ended their asset freezes and travel restrictions under the EU sanctions regime.
Usmanov was sanctioned after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with the EU citing his business interests and alleged close connections to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Usmanov has denied the allegations and challenged the sanctions.
Fridman has also contested the measures against him.

DIPLOMATS LINK THE TWO DEVELOPMENTS

European diplomats told Reuters that France had privately indicated that Azerbaijan was using the sanctions issue involving Usmanov as leverage over Paris because of French citizens detained in Azerbaijan.
Euronews also reported that French and Azerbaijani authorities had reached an understanding in which Usmanov's removal from the EU sanctions list was connected to the release of French nationals.
However, France has not publicly confirmed such an arrangement, while Azerbaijan has rejected suggestions that it used the case as a pressure campaign.
The timing of Ryan's pardon, however, has intensified speculation about a possible diplomatic understanding.

ANOTHER FRENCH NATIONAL REMAINS IN PRISON

Ryan was not the only French citizen detained in Azerbaijan.
Anass Derraz, an employee of French water-management company Saur, was sentenced to 12 years in prison after being convicted of corruption-related charges.
Unlike Ryan, Derraz was not included in Wednesday's pardon.
His continued detention has raised questions about whether negotiations between France and Azerbaijan over detained French nationals are complete.

UK CONNECTION THROUGH RYAN'S CITIZENSHIP

Ryan's case also has a British dimension because he holds British citizenship in addition to French nationality.
His detention therefore attracted attention beyond France, although Paris was the government that publicly campaigned for his release.
The case illustrates how individuals caught up in disputes between governments can become central to wider diplomatic negotiations.

UKRAINE CRITICISES USMANOV'S DELISTING

Ukraine strongly criticised the EU decision to remove Usmanov and Fridman from the sanctions list.
Ukrainian officials argued that easing sanctions while Russia's war against Ukraine continues could weaken pressure on Moscow.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha were among those expressing concern about the decision and its potential impact on European unity.
Latvia also criticised the move and said it would impose its own national sanctions on the two businessmen.

FRANCE AND AZERBAIJAN HAVE HAD STRAINED RELATIONS

Relations between Paris and Baku have been tense for several years.
France has strongly supported Armenia, while Azerbaijan has accused Paris of taking an increasingly one-sided position in the Armenia-Azerbaijan dispute.
The relationship deteriorated further after Azerbaijan's 2023 military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh, which ended decades of ethnic Armenian control over the territory.
At the same time, Azerbaijan's relations with Russia have also faced difficulties, particularly after an Azerbaijani passenger aircraft was accidentally shot down by Russian air defences in December 2024.

A COMPLEX DIPLOMATIC DEAL

The pardon of Martin Ryan does not by itself prove that his release was formally exchanged for the removal of Usmanov from the EU sanctions list.
Azerbaijan has rejected claims that it pressured France, while France has not publicly confirmed the reported arrangement.
However, the close timing of the two decisions has placed the episode under intense scrutiny in European diplomatic circles.
For Ryan, the pardon brings an end to nearly three years of detention and a case that had become intertwined with broader tensions between Azerbaijan, France, Russia and the European Union.