Baku: The final court hearing has been held in the criminal case launched by the State Security Service (SSS) against Martin Ryan, who was arrested on charges of spying for France, and Azad Mammadli, who was accused of treason, APA reports. The verdict was announced at a hearing held at the Baku Court on Grave Crimes under the chairmanship of Judge Elmin Rustamov.

According to Azeri-Press News Agency, Martin Ryan was sentenced to 10 years in prison, while Azad Mammadli received a 12-year sentence. Both individuals will serve their sentences in a strict-regime penitentiary facility. The court also ruled that Martin Ryan will be deported from the Republic of Azerbaijan after completing his sentence.

The indictment detailed substantial suspicions regarding Martin Ryan's activities. These included obtaining information on weapons and ammunition produced in Azerbaijan, the staffing of the Azerbaijani Army during the 44-day Patriotic War in 2020, and individuals serving or discharged into the reserve of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces who could potentially be recruited as contacts. Other suspicions involved individuals educated in French abroad, foreign nationals and legal entities operating in Azerbaijan, and covert money transfers through Azerbaijan on instructions from the French intelligence service. Additionally, Ryan was suspected of gathering information on the relationships between Azerbaijan and various countries, military cooperation plans, and weapons and ammunition imports into Azerbaijan.

The accused were arrested on December 4, 2023. The State Security Service charged 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, Azerbaijani citizen Azad Mammadli was charged under Article 274 (treason against the state) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan.