Azerbaijani president pardons French national convicted of espionage

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Wednesday pardoned a French national sentenced to 10 years in prison for espionage earlier this year, local media reported.

Martin Ryan, convicted in March by the Baku Court on Grave Crimes, was among several people pardoned by presidential decree, according to APA news agency.

A corresponding presidential decree said that Aliyev issued the pardon having taken into account the "personalities, health and family circumstances of the convicts," among other considerations.

The French Foreign Ministry condemned Ryan's sentence in a statement in July, rejecting the allegations against him and demanding his immediate release.