INTERNATIONAL – Three years in prison for graffiti, and Paris is outraged. France protested this Thursday, September 12, against the conviction of one of its nationals by an Azerbaijani court. “for graffiti in the subway”denouncing a “arbitrary and openly discriminatory treatment”as can be read in a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“Théo Clerc was sentenced on September 10 by an Azerbaijani court to three years in prison for graffiti in the metro, while his two co-defendants, for exactly the same acts, holders of another nationality, were sentenced to a simple fine.”lamented the ministry spokesman.
The Azerbaijani authorities had not responded to these accusations by Thursday afternoon.
A second Frenchman, Martin Ryan, is currently being held in Azerbaijan on charges of espionage. Last April, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had “categorically” reiterated his “rejection of the allegations presented by Azerbaijan to justify its hostile actions against us”.
Paris advises against travel to Azerbaijan
Last week, the Quai d’Orsay had already advised French nationals not to travel to Azerbaijan, “except for compelling reasons”The ministry pointed the finger “a risk of arrest, arbitrary detention and unfair trial”.
Baku had condemned this position via the spokesman of its Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ayxan Hacizada. Azerbaijan had thus denounced “unfounded allegations” and judges that France thus expressed its intention to “further deteriorate its relations with Azerbaijan”.
Bilateral relations have been strained for months. Azerbaijan accuses France of being a major ally of Armenia, which for three decades supported separatists in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, finally fully recaptured by the Azerbaijani army in September 2023. Paris, for its part, has accused Baku of seeking to interfere in French domestic politics, particularly during the crisis in New Caledonia, shaken since May by a deadly revolt.
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