Azerbaijan pardons Frenchman jailed for metro graffiti

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Monday pardoned a Frenchman who was sentenced last year to a three-year jail term for drawing graffiti amid a diplomatic spat between Paris and Baku.

Theo Hugo Clerc, 38, was sentenced in September 2024 for drawing graffiti in the Baku metro. France denounced the ruling as "arbitrary" and warned its citizens to avoid travel to the country unless absolutely necessary.

On Monday, Aliyev signed a decree pardoning 220 individuals, including Clerc and 15 other foreign nationals, according to a document released by the presidency.

The French foreign ministry had condemned Clerc's jailing. Two others accused of the same charges -- an Australian and a New Zealander -- were let off with a simple fine.

Another French national, Martin Ryan, is being held in Azerbaijan on espionage charges that Paris denies.

His trial began in January.

"The French authorities remain fully mobilised to obtain the release of our nationals still detained in Azerbaijan," said a French diplomatic source without providing further details.

Relations between Paris and Baku have been tense for months over France's support of Azerbaijan's arch-rival Armenia.

Paris shunned the COP29 climate conference in Baku last year and has accused Azerbaijan of stoking tensions in France's overseas territories.