Ilham Aliyev signs decree pardoning 20 people
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree pardoning 20 people, including Kirill Mikhailov, who has Russian and Israeli citizenship, and French citizen Martin Ryan. The decree states that the decision was made on the basis of appeals for pardon.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree pardoning 20 people, including Kirill Mikhailov, who has Russian and Israeli citizenship, and French citizen Martin Ryan.
The decree states that the decision was made on the basis of appeals for pardon. The personalities of the convicts, their state of health, marital status, the gravity of the crimes committed, the duration of the sentence served and the conduct in custody were taken into account.
Martin Ryan was detained in Azerbaijan in December 2023. In March 2026, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of spying for the French intelligence services. Martin Ryan and French diplomats denied the allegations.
The pardon took place the day after the lifting of European sanctions against Alisher Usmanov. The initiators of lifting restrictions on the businessman were France and Slovakia. Luxembourg and Hungary later joined them. The three diplomats told Reuters that France took the step under pressure from Azerbaijan, where two French nationals were detained.
