Envoy: Frenchman arrested in Azerbaijan for 'espionage'

Azerbaijan authorities have arrested a Frenchman on espionage charges in December, the Azerbaijani ambassador to France told AFP on January 9, Report informs.

"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 judicial authorities had ordered that he be detained for four months. The French embassy in Baku was notified, she added.

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

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