Azerbaijani justice has confirmed on appeal the conviction of a Frenchman, Martin Ryan, to ten years in prison for “espionage”, a case born against a backdrop of tensions between Paris and Baku, the appeal court said on Wednesday July 29. The trial of this businessman, who had lived in Azerbaijan for four years at the time of his arrest in December 2023, began in January 2025.
On March 16, Martin Ryan was found guilty of spying for Paris, charges rejected by France. He was on trial alongside an alleged accomplice, Azad Mamedli, an Azerbaijani citizen accused for his part of “high treason” and who was sentenced to twelve years of imprisonment. The judgment was upheld on appeal, we learned from the court.
According to the prosecution, Martin Ryan was recruited by members of the French DGSE (Directorate General of External Security) who worked at the French embassy in Baku. The latter were then expelled.
He was allegedly ordered in particular to obtain information on relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Algeria and Somalia, as well as photographs of weapons delivered to Baku by Pakistan and information on companies linked to Russia and China.
Franco-Azerbaijani relations were tense after the resumption by Baku, in September 2023, of the territory of Karabakh, then with an Armenian majority, which caused the displacement of more than 100,000 inhabitants. Baku then criticized Paris’ support for Armenia.
