Appeal court upholds French citizen's custody

The Baku Appeals Court, chaired by Judge Ibrahim Ibrahimli, held a preliminary hearing regarding the case of three foreigners who painted graffiti at a Baku metro depot in March this year

The defendants include French citizen Theo Hugo Clerc, New Zealand citizen De-Saint Quentin İsmael, and Australian citizen Han Paul. Following the incident, all three were initially subject to administrative penalties. However, the prosecutor challenged this decision, leading to criminal charges. During the investigation, the French citizen was detained, while the other two were released.

On September 19, the court sentenced the French citizen to three years in prison, while İsmael and Paul were fined 6,800 manats (approximately 3,500 euros). Today, both İsmael and Paul withdrew their appeals in the appeals court, as reported by their lawyer Elchin Sadigov. According to him, they made this decision after meeting with a representative of the State Migration Service.

"They did not disclose any details about the meeting, and the court terminated the proceedings on their appeals," the lawyer stated. Meanwhile, Hugo requested that his appeal be considered with a judicial investigation and sought to change his detention to house arrest. However, his request was denied. The hearings on the merits of the case are scheduled for October 28.