BAKU: Azerbaijan on Monday sentenced a Frenchman to 10 years in prison in an espionage case launched during a period of diplomatic tensions between Paris and Baku that have now eased.
France condemned the sentencing and called for his immediate release, saying it rejected the allegations against him. Businessman Martin Ryan was arrested in December 2023 and went on trial in January last year, when relations between Azerbaijan and France had deteriorated to new lows over Paris´s support for Armenia, Baku´s longtime rival. The court found him guilty of spying against Azerbaijan and sentenced him to 10 years, an AFP reporter in the courtroom said. Prosecutors said he cooperated with employees of France´s security services allegedly operating from the French embassy in Baku -- accusations rejected by both Ryan and Paris.
