“On December 4, 2023, Martin Ryan, a French citizen, suspected of espionage, was arrested,” said Azerbaijan’s ambassador Leyla Abdullayeva.
She added that Mr Ryan had been detained for four months.
The announcement comes amid heightened tensions between Baku and Paris.
Azerbaijan accuses France of diplomatically and militarily supporting its arch-rival Armenia and fomenting tensions in the South Caucasus.
The French embassy in Baku was notified as soon as Ryan was detained, Abdullayeva said.
Mr Ryan’s father Richard said the family had spoken to him.
“We talked to him four times, each time for two minutes. He says he is being treated well, that he is doing well with his lawyer,” the father told AFP.
According to his father, Mr Ryan believes his detention is related to tensions between the two countries.
“He once told me, ‘They want to use me as a hostage,'” Ryan said.
Diplomatic tensions between Paris and Baku escalated in late December when Azerbaijan ordered two French diplomats out of the country.
In response, France declared two Azerbaijani diplomats persona non grata.
In November, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev accused France of arming Armenia to fuel the conflict in the Caucasus.
Azerbaijan and Armenia have fought three wars over the past three decades over Nagorno-Karabakh, a separatist region of Azerbaijan that Armenian forces came under control of following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Last year, during the latest war, Azerbaijan staged a surprise blitzkrieg and regained full control of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The move drew some condemnation abroad, including in France, but also raised hopes that it would finally end the conflict between Baku and Yerevan.
Paris has also linked Azerbaijani figures to a disinformation campaign to tarnish France’s reputation as host of the 2024 Olympics, according to a report seen by AFP in November.
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2024-07-04 14:32:10
