The Martin Ryan Case: Which States Turned Out to Be France's Secret Targets?

As is known, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan firmly rejected the statement of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France dated July 30, in which the French side questioned the legality of the trial and the verdict handed down to French citizen Martin Ryan. This was previously addressed in the commentary by the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, Aykhan Hajizade.

Caliber.az conducted a special investigation in connection with this matter.

"The Azerbaijani foreign affairs ministry called Paris's attempts to give a political assessment of the trial, interfere in the activities of Azerbaijan's courts, and present Martin Ryan's detention as 'unfounded' and the trial as 'unfair' unacceptable.

The MFA statement emphasized that the criminal case against Martin Ryan was investigated in full compliance with the law. The court reached its decision based on the evidence presented. The procedural rights of the accused were ensured at all stages of the process. Furthermore, representatives of the consular service of the French Embassy were present at every court session.

Given the hasty and conspicuously emotional reaction of the French foreign affairs ministry, the editorial team of Caliber.Az, whose representatives, alongside staff of the consular service of the French Embassy, closely followed the course of the trial, considers it necessary to draw attention to a number of significant circumstances.

As previously reported in the media, during the examination of case materials, the methods of operation of a spy network managed by representatives of the French diplomatic corps in Azerbaijan were uncovered. In particular, it was revealed that members of this network attempted covert infiltration of diplomatic missions of other states, using interpreters, intimate relationships, and other channels for recruitment and gaining access to confidential information.

During the trial, numerous technical materials were presented, testimony was heard from individuals directly involved in this activity, as well as confessions by Martin Ryan and other persons implicated in the case.

In this regard, the editorial team of Caliber.Az considers it necessary to identify and make public exactly which states' diplomatic missions the French spy network carried out its unlawful activities against.

If the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France is truly so interested in the circumstances of this criminal case, our editorial team, given the conclusion of the trial, intends to approach the security body that conducted the investigation, as well as the court, with a request to disclose the names of the relevant embassies.

The disclosure of this information will undoubtedly generate great interest both among the French public and among the states that Paris publicly calls its allies and friends, while simultaneously conducting covert intelligence activities against them.

The competent agencies of France are well aware that the question of countries targeted by the operations of the French agent network is merely one episode of this and related criminal cases, the details of which may also become public knowledge over time.

It is noteworthy that just a few days after the arrests began, followed by successive exposures and the expulsion from Azerbaijan of a number of individuals declared personae non gratae as part of the criminal case being investigated in Baku, French President Emmanuel Macron on December 20, 2023, dismissed Bernard Émié from his position as head of France's General Directorate for External Security (DGSE).

The editorial team of Caliber.Az also calls on the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France to speak just as openly on the substance of the criminal case involving Anass Derraz and Alexandre Benalla. This concerns an investigation related to the alleged receipt of bribes by French officials for assisting foreign billionaires in protecting their assets from European sanctions," the