On January 9, Leyla Abdullayeva, the Azerbaijani Ambassador to France, said that in December, Azerbaijan arrested a French citizen engaged in business activities in Baku on espionage charges. Abdullayeva confirmed the information spread by the Azerbaijani media close to the government.

"French citizen Martin Ryan, suspected of espionage, was arrested on December 4, 2023," she noted. The ambassador added that the court ordered the arrest of Ryan for four months, and the French embassy in Baku was immediately informed about it.

In its turn, France accused Azerbaijan of holding a French national arbitrarily and demanded his immediate release after Baku's envoy to France said the man had been arrested on suspicion of espionage.

Richard, Martin Ryan's father, said he spoke to him on the phone. "We talked to him four times, for two minutes each time. My son says that he is being treated well and is in contact with his lawyer," Richard added. According to his father, Ryan believes his detention is related to tensions between the two countries.

Notably, diplomatic tension between Paris and Baku increased after Azerbaijan expelled two French diplomats in December. After that, France declared two Azerbaijani diplomats “persona non grata.”

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