{
  "id": 9311556,
  "title": "Azerbaijan pardons French businessman Martin Ryan after EU lifts sanctions on Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/azerbaijan-pardons-french-businessman-martin-ryan-after-eu-lifts",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-23T10:01:58.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Meduza (English)",
    "slug": "meduza-english",
    "url": "https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/09/23/azerbaijan-pardons-french-businessman-martin-ryan-after-eu-lifts-sanctions-on-russian-billionaire-alisher-usmanov"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Azeri leader, Ilham Aliyev, recently granted a full pardon to French businessman Martin Ryan, alongside a further 19 individuals, as reported by various media outlets. Ryan had initially been convicted in March to a ten-year prison term, accused of gathering information about the military during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The timing of Ryan’s release has been seen by many as the result of a mutually beneficial agreement between Baku and Paris. According to the news, France exerted pressure on the European Union to lift sanctions on Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov as a prerequisite for Ryan’s release. On September 22, the EU indeed removed Usmanov from its sanctions list, along with a second Russian businessman, Mikhail Fridman. At Meduza, we aim to uphold transparency in our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The aforementioned story was penned by one of our human journalists, following Russian text through an AI translator that adheres to our rigorous editorial guidelines. Each draft undergoes a review process by a Meduza editor before it is published. Should you detect any inaccuracies in this translation, please reach out to us at reports@meduza.io. To gain access to Meduza’s exclusive English content, consider subscribing to our newsletter.",
  "summary": "Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree pardoning French businessman Martin Ryan and 19 other people.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 5,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "France 24",
        "title": "Azerbaijan pardons jailed Frenchman after EU lifts sanctions on Russian billionaire",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/azerbaijan-pardons-jailed-frenchman-after-eu-lifts-sanctions-on",
        "published": "2026-09-23T07:53:17.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Le Monde English",
        "title": "Azerbaijan pardons jailed Frenchman after EU lifts sanctions on Russian oligarchs",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/azerbaijan-pardons-jailed-frenchman-after-eu-lifts-sanctions-on-9310936",
        "published": "2026-09-23T08:03:03.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Politico EU",
        "title": "Azerbaijan frees French prisoner after EU lifts sanctions on Russian billionaire",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/azerbaijan-frees-french-prisoner-after-eu-lifts-sanctions-on-russian",
        "published": "2026-09-23T08:35:05.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "New Voice of Ukraine",
        "title": "Lifting sanctions on Russian oligarchs creates dangerous precedent for EU — media",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/lifting-sanctions-on-russian-oligarchs-creates-dangerous-precedent",
        "published": "2026-09-23T10:13:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}