ADVERTISEMENTA French street artist who had been sentenced to three years in prison in Azerbaijan for painting a graffiti in the Baku metro has been pardoned and freed, French authorities announced Tuesday.
Théo Clerc, 38, has returned to France following 422 days in detention after he was pardoned by Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told lawmakers.
In a message posted on X, Barrot said that Clerc was “back in France, after 422 days in detention.”
He added: “It is the honor and pride of French diplomacy and its representatives to have worked tirelessly for his release.”
For her part, the entourage of the European Union’s head of diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, announced that she had contributed to the Frenchman’s release by pleading his cause during a recent visit to Azerbaijan. This release “illustrates the effects of discreet diplomacy and respectful dialogue,” said Kallas in a message on X.
French authorities had complained in September that Clerc was submitted to “discriminatory treatment,” because two co-defendants who were accused of the same offense – a New Zealander and an Australian – only received ‘simple fines’ for the same offences.
In September 2024, the Quai d’Orsay condemned the “arbitrary and blatantly discriminatory treatment” of Théo Clerc.
The street artist’s conviction provoked outrage in France, which called on its citizens to refrain from travelling to Azerbaijan unless absolutely necessary. Indeed, France has advised its citizens against traveling to Azerbaijan because of a lack of legal protections and the risk of “arbitrary detention and unfair sentencing.”
Another French citizen, Martin Ryan, is currently being held in Azerbaijan on espionage charges – charges which have been rejected by Paris.
French-Azerbaijani relations have been strained ever since Azerbaijan completely retook the Nagorno-Karabakh region following a lightning offensive in September 2023, which led to the exodus of more than 100,000 Armenians.
Baku accuses Paris of supporting Armenia, while France accuses Azerbaijan of interfering in its overseas territories – allegations that the latter rejects.
