Azerbaijan has sentenced a French national to ten years in prison on accusations of espionage. Martin Ryan, formerly the general director of the food distribution company Merkorama, was convicted by an Azerbaijani court and given this sentence. Simultaneously, an Azerbaijani national, Azad Mammadli, was convicted of treason and received a twelve-year prison term, according to reports from the pro-government media outlet APA, released on Monday.
Ryan and Mammadli were detained in 2023. Azerbaijani security services, the DTX, alleged that Ryan was working for French intelligence, seeking to gather information regarding Azerbaijan’s defense capabilities and other confidential details. They further claimed Ryan had recruited Mammadli as an undercover operative.
Ryan expressed his belief that the charges stemmed from longstanding tensions between Azerbaijan and France, particularly due to French support for Armenia. Paris has refuted these allegations, although Ryan reportedly admitted to partially accepting responsibility. “I consider myself guilty only in that I should not have established contacts with embassy employees or shared information with authorities,” Ryan stated in court.
“I did not spy; I am not a spy, and I attempted to demonstrate this during the proceedings.”
Several other French nationals have been arrested in Azerbaijan and received lengthy prison sentences based on accusations linked to geopolitical factors. For example, Théo Clerc was sentenced to three years for spray painting a Baku Metro train and subsequently pardoned by President Ilham Aliyev in 2025. Aliyev has stated that tensions between Azerbaijan and France have been resolved, promising a new era of bilateral relations.
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