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Akbar Novruz

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The Baku Grave Crimes Court has held the next hearing in the high-profile criminal case initiated by Azerbaijan’s State Security Service (STS) against Martin Ryan, a French national accused of espionage, and Azad Mammadli, an Azerbaijani citizen charged with treason, Azernews reports.

The trial, chaired by Judge Elmin Rustamov, saw intense exchanges between the two defendants as they directly addressed each other in court.

Martin Ryan, the General Director of Merkorama LLC, requested to respond to Azad Mammadli’s earlier testimony. Denying Mammadli’s accusations, Ryan stated:
"He said that I had allegedly introduced some Azerbaijani citizens to representatives of French intelligence. However, this is not the case. During the investigation, I gave the names of all the individuals. There was an employee of the French embassy, Z.M., who had good relations with those individuals. He also met with those individuals in person. I reported everything I knew during the investigation."

Ryan further claimed that U.A., another figure mentioned in the case, was aware of the intelligence connections of Frederick Devos, whom Ryan identified as a French intelligence officer.
"Later, I learned that Frederick Devos is a man of French intelligence, has relations with them, is a dangerous person. After learning this, I told U.A. that Frederick Devos is a dangerous person, serves French intelligence. Later, U.A. told me that another French intelligence officer, Laurent Grand, who came after Frederick Devos, offered him cooperation. But he refused," he said.

In response, Azad Mammadli firmly rejected Ryan’s version of events:
"Martin Ryan is also lying in this statement. I need a little time to gather the facts to prove this and present them to the court. Martin introduced some Azerbaijani citizens and 1 foreign citizen to French intelligence representatives. Martin collected information about some people from them under the pretext of teaching French and chess and passed it on to the French special services."

During the session, Ryan’s earlier testimony to the preliminary investigation was also read aloud. According to that statement, Ryan became acquainted with individuals named R.M., F.H., E.A., and E.S. while studying at the Faculty of International Relations in France. At their invitation, he made multiple trips to Azerbaijan between 2019 and 2023.

On his fourth visit in December 2019, Ryan reportedly began his connection with Frederick Devos, whom he later suspected of being involved in French intelligence services.
"He mainly asked questions about energy, oil and gas, relations with neighboring countries, and military cooperation. He asked questions about Azerbaijan's weapons during the 44-day Patriotic War and Azerbaijan-Turkey relations. After Frederick left, he was replaced by Leron Lödy. The essence of his questions was the same," Ryan told investigators.

The court hearing is scheduled to continue on July 21.

Martin Ryan was arrested on December 4, 2023, and charged under Article 276 (espionage) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The STS alleges that he was recruited by officers of the French DGSE (General Directorate of External Security) for clandestine cooperation and was later declared persona non grata and expelled from the country.

Azad Mammadli, also detained in connection with the case, faces charges under Article 274 (treason) of the Criminal Code.