French national imprisoned in Azerbaijan over graffiti released in Aliyev pardon

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has pardoned 175 convicts, including a French national convicted of spray painting a train in 2024. No convicted journalists, politicians, or activists were released as part of the amnesty.

Aliyev issued the pardon on Monday morning, releasing 175 people from serving the remainder of their sentences. The amnesty order also halved the probation periods of 25 convicts, halved the probation periods of two convicts, released 10 from suspended prison sentences, and released four people from community service.

The full list was published by pro-government media outlet APA.

French national Théo Clerc was one of those set to be released. He was arrested alongside two other foreign nationals — one from New Zealand and another from Australia — in March 2024 for spray painting a Baku Metro train.

At that time, they were told to pay approximately ₼5,000 ($2,900) in damages, though this was later raised to ₼9,800 ($5,800) by the Narimanov District Court.

On 1 April, the Baku Metro appealed the court’s decision to fine the three, after which a criminal case was launched against them. While the Australian and New Zealand nationals were released, Clerc spent three months in pre-trial detention before being sentenced to three years in prison in September 2024.

According to their lawyer, Elchin Sadigov, the court considered the graffiti, which had no political meaning, to be ‘hooliganism’ and ‘damage to someone else’s property’, charges that carry severe penalties. However, Sadigov told OC Media that the three foreign nationals had already paid the original fine of ₼5,000, as well as an additional ₼7,000 ($4,100) to cover the cost of the train being taken out of service for three days. In addition, he said they paid a further 25% of the total amount in order to close the criminal case.

In August 2024, Meydan TV reported that Clerc told the court that he believed Azerbaijan was punishing him for France’s declining relations with Azerbaijan. Additionally, an anonymous French diplomatic source reportedly told IntelliNews that the entire reason behind Clerc’s arrest was his nationality.

Since the 2020 Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, France has become increasingly critical of Azerbaijan’s handling of the conflict. They have also enhanced their support of Armenia, including through the supply of advanced weaponry.

Azerbaijan sentences French national to three years in prison for spray painting train

Azerbaijan has sentenced a French citizen to three years in prison for spray painting a Baku metro car, as diplomatic relations between Baku and Paris remain tense. On 10 September, the Narimanov District Court in Baku sentenced Théo Clerc to three years in prison for painting the train carriage at the Baku metro depot. Australian citizen Paul Han and New Zealand citizen Ismael De-Saint Quentin were fined ₼6,800 ($4,000) each for the same charge. The harsh sentencing of Clerc compared to

OC MediaXandie (Alexandra) Kuenning