Baku court to consider case of French spies arrested in Azerbaijan

A preliminary investigation of the criminal case initiated by the State Security Service of Azerbaijan against Martin Ryan, who was arrested on charges of espionage in favour of France, has been completed.

The case has been sent to the Baku Court of Grave Crimes for consideration. Judge Elmin Rustamov will preside over the trial, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.

Notably, Martin Ryan and others were arrested on December 4, 2023. Ryan, CEO of Mercorama LLC, is charged with espionage.

According to the indictment, Ryan was used as a spy agent by members of the French DGSE (Directorate-General for External Security), who engaged him in covert cooperation and was subsequently expelled from the country as “persona non grata”.

Azad Mammadli, a citizen of Azerbaijan, will also be tried in this criminal case on charges of high treason.

Recall that on December 20, 2023, the head of the DGSE Bernard Emier was dismissed from his post after a series of failures of the French intelligence services and the exposure of an extensive spy network.

Martin Ryan, a French national and CEO of the Baku-based company Merkorama LLC, was arrested in Baku on December 4, 2023, on charges of espionage for France.

Azerbaijani authorities accuse Ryan of being coerced by French intelligence agents into gathering sensitive information under the guise of his business activities.

The French government has denied the espionage allegations and has called for Ryan's immediate release, expressing concerns over the fairness of the legal proceedings.

This incident has further strained diplomatic relations between France and Azerbaijan, already tense due to France's support for Armenia in regional conflicts.

By Khagan Isayev