French national Martin Ryan (L) during a court hearing as part of his trial on spy charges in Baku on January 6, 2025. AFPTV STRINGER / AFP
Azerbaijan on Monday, March 16, sentenced a Frenchman to 10 years in prison in an espionage case launched during a period of diplomatic tensions between Paris and Baku that have now eased.
Martin Ryan was arrested in December 2023 and went on trial in January last year, when relations between Azerbaijan and France had deteriorated to new lows over Paris's support for Armenia, Baku's longtime rival. The court found him guilty of spying against Azerbaijan and sentenced him to 10 years, an AFP reporter in the courtroom said.
Prosecutors had sought an 11-year prison sentence, accusing Ryan of cooperating with employees of France's security services allegedly operating from the French embassy in Baku. They said he gathered information about Azerbaijan's relations with Turkey, Iran and Pakistan, as well as about companies linked to Russia and China.
Ryan was tried alongside Azerbaijani citizen Azad Mamedli, who was convicted of high treason and sentenced to 12 years behind bars. Authorities said Ryan recruited Mamedli and arranged for him to meet French intelligence agents, who allegedly tasked him with recruiting Azerbaijanis and Russians at a Moscow university where he studied.
