A French national, accused of espionage, was arrested on December 4 in Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan’s ambassador to Paris told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Tuesday, January 9, against a backdrop of strong diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
“Suspected of having committed acts of espionage, Martin Ryan (…) was arrested on December 4 »said Leyla Abdullayeva. “Later, the courts ordered his detention for a period of four months”she explained, specifying that “upon his arrest, the French embassy in Baku was informed by a note verbale”.
The case was leaked a few days ago in online media, particularly in Azerbaijan, but without official confirmation until now.
Expulsion of diplomats
Diplomatic tensions rose a notch between Paris and Baku at the end of December, with the mutual expulsion of two diplomats, while Baku has been criticizing Paris for several months for its support for rival Armenia.
France declared “persona non grata” two Azerbaijani diplomats by “reciprocity measure”after Baku’s decision the day before to expel two French diplomats.
France’s stated support for Armenia, in conflict with Azerbaijan, has also earned it harsh criticism from Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev.
For its part, Paris accused actors linked to Azerbaijan in November of having led a campaign of information manipulation aimed at damaging France’s reputation in its ability to host the 2024 Olympic Games.
The father of the detained man, Richard Ryan, says he has news of his son. “We spoke with him four times, each time for two minutes. He says he is treated well and gets along well with his lawyer.”, he explained to AFP. According to him, Martin Ryan sees a link between his file and the diplomatic tensions between the two countries. “Once he said to me: ‘They wanted to use me as a pawn’”explained Richard Ryan, adding that his son had “refers to the two expelled diplomats, believing that they got off lightly”.