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Decision issued in case of Martin Ryan and Azad Mammadli

29 July 2026 14:54 (UTC +04:00)

A decision has been issued regarding Martin Ryan, accused of spying for France, and Azad Mammadli, charged with high treason, APA reports.

The Baku Court of Appeal, chaired by Judge Murad Mammadov, reviewed the appeal filed against the verdict issued in the criminal case launched by the State Security Service (SSS).

The court upheld the original verdict.

It should be noted that under the verdict issued by the Baku Court for Grave Crimes on March 16 this year, Martin Ryan was sentenced to 10 years and Azad Mammadli to 12 years of imprisonment.

Martin Ryan, the general director of “Merkorama” LLC, was charged under Article 276 (espionage) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, while Azerbaijani citizen Azad Mammadli was charged under Article 274 (high treason) of the Criminal Code.

Martin Ryan and Azad Mammadli were arrested by the State Security Service on December 4, 2023.

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. The indictment also states that Ryan received instructions to obtain information on weapons and ammunition produced in Azerbaijan, the staffing of the Azerbaijani Army during the 2020 44-day Patriotic War, individuals serving in or discharged from the Azerbaijani Armed Forces who could potentially be recruited, foreign nationals and legal entities operating in Azerbaijan, covert money transfers through Azerbaijan on the instructions of the French intelligence service, Azerbaijan’s relations with a number of foreign countries, military cooperation plans, and weapons and ammunition imported into the country.

According to the investigation, Martin Ryan introduced Azad Mammadli to officers of the French intelligence service in Baku. Azad Mammadli was allegedly promised foreign citizenship in exchange for carrying out assigned tasks.