Baku court hears new testimony in French espionage case

A court hearing has continued in the criminal case launched by Azerbaijan’s State Security Service (SSS) against Martin Ryan, accused of espionage for France, and Azad Mammadli, charged with high treason.

According to APA, witnesses testified at the session held at the Baku Court on Grave Crimes, presided over by Judge Elmin Rustamov.

Witness J.S., who has been recognised as a witness in the case, stated that he met the accused Martin Ryan through Facebook.

“Martin Ryan sent me a friend request in late September or early October 2022. I checked his profile and accepted the request because we had mutual acquaintances. Then he wrote to me. We communicated; he told me about his plans to start a business and build a family here. We met several times, but later I stopped hearing from him. Calls to his phone did not go through, and his friends also had no information. Later, the SSS summoned me to give testimony about Martin.”

The witness said he had no knowledge of Ryan’s alleged espionage activities: “If I had known, I would have reported it to the relevant authorities myself.”

He added that Martin had three close friends in Azerbaijan — Azad, U.A., and Z.M.: “I did not see them. Martin said Z.M. helped him with housing, that Azad was intelligent, and that U.A. was a sincere person.”

Witness S.Sh. testified that under a lease agreement he rented out an apartment to Laurent Girard, an employee of the French Embassy: “I did not know what his position was at the embassy. A middleman found him. I rented out a two-storey house in Badamdar for 2,000 manats per month; payments were made in manats, and I collected the money myself.

“There was nothing suspicious. Laurent lived there with his family. At the end of the month I called him, but there was no answer. I went to the house — the door was locked. I tried to contact him but got no response. I wrote to the French Embassy’s email. The next day the embassy replied that Laurent had urgently left for France, and that the keys were at the embassy and would be handed over. The following day, an embassy employee gave me the keys. I noticed nothing suspicious.”

Another witness, R.M., said he had testified during the investigation about his acquaintance with Martin and Azad Mammadli: “I studied in France and met Martin through my friend Diana at an embassy event. We met infrequently but stayed in touch. We would meet and socialise with Azerbaijani students. After four years of study, I returned home.”

He added that he had a company in the country: “Some time later, Martin came to Azerbaijan; we met with Azerbaijani students. The goal was to keep up the language and maintain contacts. Later Martin opened a company; I also had a company. We worked together. Business was going well, so we decided to expand and began cooperating with a Georgian citizen of French origin, Ludovic Giraud. He was supposed to bring us clients. We opened a joint company, with Martin as director. Their share was larger; they made the key decisions. I owned 15–20% of the company. The company fulfilled orders. Later issues arose over the distribution of shares. After two years, we decided to sell the company, but did not do so because of its low market value. After that, relations with Martin cooled, and we did not speak for two years.”

The witness said that while the company was active, they worked with French and Spanish firms and fulfilled their orders. He also described events in the summer of 2023: “At a café in Baku, Martin said that one of the older employees of the French Embassy had asked him to transfer money to a person working in Africa. Martin thought this older man was an intelligence officer.”

The witness also testified that in the summer of 2023 Martin met with him and said that a French Embassy employee would bring him a keyboard with the French alphabet. Martin Ryan said he would meet this person in Molokan Garden and asked the witness to accompany him. The witness went with Martin, and a few minutes later the embassy employee arrived. During the meeting the man stated his name, but the witness could not recall it. The embassy employee handed Martin the keyboard and then spent about 5–10 minutes discussing wine sales in Baku.

The embassy employee was a blond man with a beard, approximately 40–45 years old, of average build and height (R.M. identified him from a photograph during the preliminary investigation). U.A. and Z.M. were also present at the meeting. The witness left due to urgent matters, while Ryan and the embassy employee continued their conversation.

The witness added that during their discussions a woman named Olga was mentioned: “She had a relationship with Martin. Martin expressed suspicion that Olga might be a Russian agent, but I did not take it seriously.”

The prosecutor asked whether the witness had any facts or suspicions that Martin was engaged in espionage or was involving others in such activities.

The witness replied that he had no such information: “I had not spoken to him for two years due to company matters. If I had known, I would have informed the relevant authorities.”

Martin Ryan himself stated that his appointment as company director was connected to obtaining a residence permit: “That is why I was appointed director — I was paid 1,500 manats a month and provided all necessary guarantees. If I had obtained a residence permit in Georgia, R.M. could have been director.”

The next court hearing, with testimony from other witnesses, is scheduled for January 12.

According to the indictment, there are reasonable suspicions that Martin Ryan, acting on behalf of French intelligence, collected information on:

• weapons and ammunition produced in the Republic of Azerbaijan;
• the structure of the Azerbaijani Army during the 44-day Patriotic War of 2020;
• servicemen and reservists who could potentially be recruited;
• citizens who had received French-language education abroad;
• foreign citizens and legal entities operating in Azerbaijan;
• as well as the possibilities of organising covert financial transfers through Azerbaijan to other countries.

In addition, he allegedly gathered information on Azerbaijan’s relations with the United Kingdom, Algeria, Türkiye, Pakistan, Iran, China, Somalia, Central Asian states and other countries, as well as on plans for military cooperation and deliveries of weapons and ammunition to Azerbaijan.

The accused were arrested on December 4, 2023, by Azerbaijan’s State Security Service.

Martin Ryan, who had been the general director of Merkorama LLC, was charged under Article 276 of Azerbaijan’s Criminal Code (espionage).

The indictment says Ryan was recruited for covert cooperation and subsequently used as an agent by officers of France’s Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE), who were later declared persona non grata in Baku and expelled from the country.

Under the same criminal case, Azerbaijani citizen Azad Mammadli was charged under Article 274 of the Criminal Code (high treason).

By Khagan Isayev