by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief
BAKU/PARIS (Worthy News) – Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has pardoned French-British businessman Martin Ryan, who was serving a 10-year prison sentence on espionage charges, a day after a French push to have a Russian-Uzbek billionaire removed from the European Union’s sanctions list.
Ryan was among 20 prisoners pardoned by Aliyev on Wednesday after being detained in Azerbaijan since December 2023.
The businessman was sentenced in March to 10 years in prison after being convicted of spying for France.
Azerbaijani prosecutors accused Ryan of gathering information about the country’s military cooperation with other nations. Ryan denied the charges, while France rejected the espionage allegations and called for his release.
ESPIONAGE CONVICTION
His pardon followed the European Union’s removal of Russian-Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov from its sanctions list under reported pressure from France.
European diplomats said France’s effort to remove Usmanov was linked to attempts to secure the release of French nationals imprisoned in Azerbaijan.
Paris had privately indicated that Baku was using the Usmanov sanctions case as leverage over France, according to officials familiar with the negotiations.
Well-informed sources said France sought Usmanov’s delisting as part of a secret prisoner-release deal involving Azerbaijan.
SECRET DEAL
European media reported a behind-the-scenes arrangement linking the release of French detainees to Usmanov’s removal from EU sanctions.
France has not publicly confirmed such an arrangement. Azerbaijan rejected allegations that it had mounted a pressure campaign, calling such suggestions “categorically unfounded.”
Usmanov, who was born in Uzbekistan and built his fortune in metals and telecommunications, had been under EU sanctions since 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
France welcomed Ryan’s pardon, saying Aliyev’s decision followed sustained diplomatic efforts between Paris and Baku.
FRANCE WELCOMES RELEASE
“This decision is the result of patient and demanding dialogue with the Azerbaijani authorities, which we intend to continue and which is a step towards normalizing our relations,” the French Foreign Ministry said.
Ryan, a French national who also holds British citizenship, had lived in Azerbaijan for several years before his arrest.
A second Frenchman imprisoned in Azerbaijan, Anass Derraz, was not among those pardoned. The employee of French water-management company Saur was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2025 on corruption charges.
Relations between France and Azerbaijan have been strained in recent years, particularly over Paris’s support for Armenia, Azerbaijan’s longtime regional rival.
Yet Ryan’s pardon was seen as a sign of improving relations between Paris and Baku after years of diplomatic friction.
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