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Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev pardoned Martin Ryan, a French national serving a 10-year sentence for spying, among 20 individuals pardoned on Wednesday. Ryan was arrested in 2023 and sentenced in March for allegedly gathering information on Azerbaijan’s military ties with other countries and companies linked to Russia and China; he denied the charges. The pardon followed the EU lifting sanctions on Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, amid diplomatic tensions involving France and Ukraine over the handling of detained citizens.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-23,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev pardoned Martin Ryan, a French national, on Wednesday who was serving a 10-year prison sentence for spying. Ryan, arrested in 2023, had been sentenced in March of the same year. The pardon came shortly after the European Union lifted sanctions on Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, following pressure from Baku. Among 20 individuals pardoned, Ryan was one of several including Azerbaijani, Turkish, Russian-Israeli, and Pakistani nationals. France welcomed the decision as a “humanitarian gesture,” citing patient dialogue with Azerbaijan. The move reflects growing tensions and diplomatic pressures amid Russia’s influence in Europe.
Written for “Azerbaijan Spying Case” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has pardoned Martin Ryan, a French national who was serving a 10-year prison sentence on spying charges.
asserted
who → pardon → charges
The move on Wednesday came a day after the European Union lifted sanctions on Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov following what diplomats described as pressure exerted by Baku.
asserted
diplomats → come → Baku
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asserted
future → charge → 3What
Ryan, who was arrested in 2023 and sentenced in March, was among 20 people pardoned by Aliyev’s office, alongside Azerbaijani, Turkish, Russian-Israeli and Pakistani nationals, Reuters news agency reported.
asserted
agency → arrest → nationals
Aliyev’s website said the president took into account their “personalities, state of health, family circumstances” and other reasons in deciding to grant pardons.
asserted
president → say → pardons
France welcomed “with relief the decision to grant clemency” to Ryan, calling it “a humanitarian gesture”, according to a French Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement.
uncertain
France → welcome → statement
It remained unclear whether Ryan had been released.
uncertain
Ryan → remain → ?
Prosecutors alleged Ryan gathered information on Azerbaijan’s military ties with Turkiye, Iran and Pakistan, as well as on companies linked to Russia and China.
asserted
Ryan → allege → Russia
Ryan, who also holds British citizenship, denied the charges.
asserted
who → hold → charges
France said the allegations against him were false and had called for his immediate release, arguing he had been caught in the crossfire of diplomatic tensions.
asserted
he → say → tensions
The delisting of Usmanov and fellow Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman was the first time the EU removed sanctions on the wealthiest members of Russia’s billionaire elite who had not publicly condemned the war on Ukraine.
asserted
who → remove → Ukraine
Usmanov, who once held a minority stake in Arsenal football club, graduated from the same prestigious diplomatic school in Moscow as the presidents of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan and knows them personally.
asserted
who → hold → them
Diplomatic response
European diplomats told Reuters and AFP news agencies that France had privately indicated Baku was using Usmanov’s sanctions status to pressure Paris over its detained citizens.
asserted
Baku → tell → citizens
A second Frenchman, Anass Derraz, an employee of the French water company Saur who was sentenced to 12 years on corruption charges, was not included in the pardons.
asserted
who → sentence → pardons
An Azerbaijani diplomat rejected suggestions of a pressure campaign as “categorically unfounded”.
asserted
diplomat → reject → campaign
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the move reflected Russian efforts “to break the West’s unity”, while his Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, said Moscow was “celebrating, because it got what it wanted: a sense of impunity, the humiliation of the EU, and division among Europeans”.
asserted
it → say → Europeans
Latvia abstained from the vote and said it would impose its own sanctions on the two men, with Foreign Minister Baiba Braze calling the EU decision “dangerous”.
asserted
Braze → abstain → decision
Slovakia initially called for Usmanov’s removal, with France later backing the move.
asserted
France → call → move
Relations between Baku and Paris have long been strained by France’s support for Armenia, even as ties between Moscow and Baku have also deteriorated since the accidental downing of an Azerbaijani passenger jet by Russian forces in December 2024.
asserted
ties → strain → December
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