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“Talks on spy networks” revealed at trial of Martin Ryan accused of espionage for France

08 September 2025 17:26 (UTC +04:00)

The next court hearing has been held on the criminal case initiated by the State Security Service (SSS) regarding Martin Ryan and Azad Mammadli, who are accused of espionage for France, APA reports.

Today, a hearing was held at the Baku Court on Grave Crimes under the chairmanship of Judge Elmin Rustamov, during which the accused Martin Ryan requested to speak. The court granted the defendant’s request.

The accused Martin Ryan spoke about his connections with employees of the French Embassy: “My meetings were not secret. We had normal meetings. The places where we met were also public. If those meetings had been secret, the locations would not have been in open places.”

Later, the statement given by the accused, Azad Mammadli, during the preliminary investigation was announced.

It became known that Azad Mammadli received his bachelor's degree in Russia and his master's degree in France. Although he went to Türkiye to work, he returned to the country because he could not find a job. Later, he worked for two months as a trainee lawyer at one of the companies in Moscow. Afterwards, he worked in France as a contract specialist at an IT company, but his cooperation there did not last long, and he returned to the country to work as a lawyer in the Legal Department of one of the banks. His cooperation with the bank was not long-term, and he then went to foreign countries to work there.

Azad Mammadli stated in his testimony that he attended a course near the 28 May metro station to improve his French language skills: “After some time, I became friends with Z.M., who was teaching me French at that course. Later, while walking on the boulevard, I ran into Z.M. During that meeting, Z.M. introduced me to Martin Ryan and told him that I was his student. After the introduction, we met at a café. We talked about job opportunities in Azerbaijan and France. Some time later, Martin called me and invited me to a gathering at his home. During that gathering, I met Frédéric Devos. As a result of that introduction, I later had a meeting with Frédéric Devos. Frédéric Devos was interested in my education in Russia and my political analysis abilities. Devos asked me to write analyses related to Russia. However, I refused. Later, Frédéric asked questions about the upcoming Eurasian Economic Forum to be held in Kyrgyzstan. Afterwards, he requested written information from me, but I told him that I would not provide written information and demanded that he never ask me for such a thing again. I told him that I would only carry out analyses during our meetings. At the next meeting, Devos spoke with me about Azerbaijan-Iran and Azerbaijan-Armenia relations, spy networks, and the “Huseynchilar” group.

According to Azad Mammadli’s statement given during the investigation, he met Laurent Gérard at an event: “After we became acquainted, he asked me to attend all the events that were being held. Some time later, I met with him. During the meeting, he asked me to take a pen that was on the table and write to the email address contained in that pen. However, I didn’t take the pen and told him I wouldn’t provide written information. Then he asked me to download the ‘Signal’ application. I downloaded it, and for some time we communicated via that app. Later, we arranged another meeting. At my next meeting with Laurent, he gave me a book as a gift. Inside the pages of that book, there was an envelope. The envelope contained an email address. He asked me to write to that email if I changed my mind. But I firmly refused to do so.”

Azad Mammadli stated in his testimony that he met Laurent Lodi at an event organized by the French embassy: “Although we talked at the event, he did not provide me with information about where he works.”

The court session will continue on October 1 with the announcement of the continuation of Azad Mammadli’s statement given during the preliminary investigation.

Note that the accused individuals were arrested on December 4, 2023. The State Security Service has charged Martin Ryan, the CEO 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 operatives of France’s DGSE (General Directorate for External Security), who had recruited him for covert cooperation and were later declared “persona non grata” and expelled from Baku.

In the same criminal case, Azerbaijani citizen Azad Mammadli has been charged under Article 274 of the Criminal Code (high treason).