France toughens punishment for radicals who attacked Azerbaijani embassy

Punishment for radical Armenian nationalists who attacked the Azerbaijani embassy in Paris in 2022 has been toughened, the Azerbaijani embassy in France said.

The embassy recalled that on September 18, 2022, radical Armenian groups carried out an attack on the Azerbaijani embassy in Paris, resulting in damage to the diplomatic mission building. Evidence related to the incident was presented to the local court.

According to the decision of the Paris court dated June 23, 2023, one of the main organizers of the attack, Loris Tufanyan, a member of the Armenian movement "Charjoum", was given a suspended sentence of 6 months and a fine. The party that disagreed with the decision of the court of first instance appealed to the Court of Appeal.

"On July 8, 2025, the Paris Court of Appeal toughened the sentence previously imposed by the court of first instance in the case of the attack by radical Armenian nationalists on the building of the Azerbaijani embassy in France," the statement reads.

The punishment set by the court of first instance was doubled to 12 months. As an additional punishment, L. Tufanyan was prohibited from storing and carrying weapons for 5 years, the fine was also increased.

"We regard this decision of the Paris Court of Appeal as an important step towards preventing similar incidents in the future," the embassy said.