Another court hearing has been held in the criminal case initiated at the State Security Service (SSS) against Martin Ryan, accused of espionage for France, and Azad Mammadli, charged with treason against the state, APA reports.
In the trial held at the Baku Court on Grave Crimes, chaired by Judge Elmin Rustamov, F.A., an employee of the Nizami District Housing Administration No. 28, testified as a witness.
He said that he and his colleague participated as witnesses during the operation conducted by the State Security Service to detain Martin Ryan: “On December 4, 2023, two individuals approached our office and said they were SSS officers. They stated that they would conduct operational-search measures in an apartment located in our area and invited me and my colleague to participate as attesting witnesses. We agreed. They asked whether we knew the person living in that apartment, and we said we did not. From the conversation, we learned that a French citizen lived there. We arrived at the apartment located on Uzbekistan Street near the Gara Garayev metro station. The SSS officers knocked on the door. The resident opened it, was informed of the situation, and was presented with a court decision authorizing a search of the apartment. A female interpreter fluent in French also took part in the operation and translated the SSS officers’ remarks to Martin. After reviewing the court decision, Martin Ryan invited them into the apartment.”
According to the witness, 2 laptops, 4 phones, documents and books in French, and a large number of business cards were taken from the house: "All this was done on video. The phones, laptops and other items that were taken were packed. The entire process was translated into French for him. After the review, a protocol was drawn up, Martin Ryan and we signed it".
The next court hearing is scheduled for February 16.
According to the indictment, substantial suspicions have been identified regarding Martin Ryan’s receipt of instructions and activities aimed at obtaining information on weapons and ammunition produced in the Republic of Azerbaijan; the staffing of the Azerbaijani Army during the 44-day Patriotic War in 2020; individuals serving in or discharged into the reserve of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces who could potentially be recruited as contacts; individuals educated in French abroad; foreign nationals and legal entities operating in Azerbaijan; the organization of covert money transfers through Azerbaijan to other countries on the instructions of the French intelligence service; relations and ties between Azerbaijan and the United Kingdom, Algeria, Türkiye, Pakistan, Iran, China, Somalia, Central Asian states, and other countries; military cooperation plans; and information on weapons and ammunition imported into Azerbaijan.
Note that the accused persons were arrested on December 4, 2023. The State Security Service brought charges against Martin Ryan, the general director of “Merkorama” LLC, under Article 276 (espionage) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan. According to the indictment, Martin Ryan was used as an agent-spy by officers of France’s DGSE (General Directorate for External Security), who had recruited him into covert cooperation and were later expelled from Baku after being declared persona non grata. In the same criminal case, alongside Martin Ryan, Azerbaijani citizen Azad Mammadli has been charged under Article 274 (treason against the state) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
