French Spy Scandal in Azerbaijan: New Details in Court

Another court hearing was held in the Baku Court of Serious Crimes on the criminal case against Martin Ryan and Azad Mammadli, who were arrested on espionage charges by the State Security Service (SSS) of Azerbaijan.

As BAKU.WS reports with reference to Oxu.Az, sensational testimonies from the defendants were heard during the trial presided over by Judge Elmin Rustamov.

Martin Ryan, a French citizen and director of Merkorama LLC, first answered questions from his lawyer, and then from the defender of the other accused, Azad Mammadli. Ryan spoke about his contacts with employees of the French Embassy, emphasizing that at first he did not understand their true intentions.

"Being an ordinary businessman, I perceived them simply as representatives of my country's embassy. Being abroad, as a Frenchman, I constantly maintained contact with them. But in the end, I realized that my every step was under control," Ryan admitted.

According to him, he understood the scale of the problem when French intelligence officers disguised as diplomats began giving him assignments. They met particularly actively during the 44-day war in 2020, discussing various topics. When Ryan asked about the danger of these meetings, he was assured of safety and protection.

Ryan first met with a certain Frederic Devos in May 2020. And he met Azad Mammadli even earlier, in 2019, through a mutual acquaintance. Although Mammadli had personal connections with embassy staff, Ryan did not know the details and considered him a person connected with Russia.

Then Azad Mammadli himself, accused of treason and espionage for France, testified in court. He accused Martin Ryan on 9 counts, denying his own guilt.

"I did not collect any information against Azerbaijan. Yes, the French offered me to spy, but I refused. There is a recording of my phone conversation with Martin that confirms my refusal to cooperate," Mammadli stated.

He denied accusations of transferring data about Azerbaijan's relations with Iran, Armenia, and Israel, as well as about the Zangezur corridor and Russian businessmen. According to him, he only expressed subjective opinions about interstate relations. Mammadli maintained contact with the French Embassy until 2023, and then terminated it.

"Martin slandered me during the investigation, distorting all my words. I considered him a friend, but he turned out to be a spy. Now it's clear that Martin and the French Embassy were weaving an insidious conspiracy against Azerbaijani citizens. He transmitted all information about me to French intelligence," Mammadli said indignantly.

According to him, Martin deceived 9 Azerbaijanis under the guise of friendship, while completing about 50 assignments against our country, many of which occurred during the war period. In the end, Mammadli expressed regret that he did not report the French offers to the State Security Service in time, calling it his main mistake.

Due to contradictions in the defendants' testimonies, the court decided to read out their statements from the preliminary investigation and conduct cross-examination at the next hearing on May 19.

Note that the preliminary investigation of the criminal case against M. Ryan, accused of espionage for France, was completed by the SSS. The case was sent to the Baku Court of Serious Crimes for consideration. Martin Ryan and others were arrested on December 4, 2023.

Merkorama CEO Martin Ryan was charged with espionage. According to the charges, he was recruited for secret cooperation and used as a spy agent by DGSE (General Directorate for External Security of France) employees, who were later declared persona non grata and expelled from Baku.

In this criminal case, along with M. Ryan, Azerbaijani citizen Azad Mammadli is being prosecuted on charges of treason.