Azerbaijan arrests French national on charges of espionage

YEREVAN, JANUARY 9, ARMENPRESS.Azerbaijan authorities arrested a Frenchman on espionage charges in December, the Azerbaijani ambassador to France told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Tuesday, January 9.

"Suspected of having committed acts of espionage, Martin Ryan, a French national, was arrested on December 4, 2023," said Azerbaijan's ambassador Leyla Abdullayeva. She said the Azerbaijani judicial authorities have ordered that Ryan be detained for four months.

"The French embassy in Azerbaijan was notified as soon as he was arrested," the ambassador added.

Martin Ryan's father, Richard, said that the family had spoken to him.

"We spoke to him four times, each time for two minutes. He says he's being treated well and is getting on well with his lawyer," Richard Ryan told AFP.

According to FrenchLe Monde, diplomatic tensions between Paris and Baku escalated at the end of December, when Azerbaijan ordered two French diplomatsto leave the country. France declared two Azerbaijani diplomats "persona non grata" as a reciprocal measure.