A court in Baku has sentenced a French national, Martin Ryan, to 10 years in prison after finding him guilty of espionage, according to reporting by Reuters and other outlets citing the Russian state news agency RIA.

Ryan was arrested in December 2023. Azerbaijani authorities say he gathered information concerning the country’s military cooperation with Türkiye and Pakistan on behalf of France.

French officials have denied the allegations against Ryan. Paris previously condemned his detention as unjustified and called on Azerbaijani authorities to release him without delay.

Before his arrest, Ryan had been working in Azerbaijan for a food-importing company that also provided consulting services, according to prosecutors.

Authorities also alleged that Ryan helped establish contact between French intelligence and an Azerbaijani citizen, Azad Mammadli. Mammadli, who was tried alongside Ryan, was sentenced to 12 years in prison. At the start of the trial, he denied any wrongdoing.

Single charge

Ryan faced a single formal charge under Article 276 of Azerbaijan’s Criminal Code, which concerns espionage. Although the indictment contained numerous factual elements - including the alleged gathering of information related to Azerbaijan’s military cooperation - these formed part of one charge rather than separate offences.

Ryan did not plead guilty to espionage. Instead, he acknowledged certain factual circumstances of the case, including meetings with staff from the French embassy and acting as a source of information, while denying that these actions amounted to espionage.

Because the case involved only one charge, legal analysts said the notion of a “partial plea” in the usual sense did not apply.

Legal analysts said Ryan acknowledged certain factual circumstances of the case but denied that they constituted espionage, noting that acknowledging factual circumstances does not amount to an admission of guilt.

Relations between Baku and Paris have at times been strained in recent years, partly due to France’s close ties with Armenia, Azerbaijan’s rival in several conflicts over the past four decades, although relations have improved more recently.

In May last year, Azerbaijan pardoned another French citizen, Theo Hugo Clerc, who had been sentenced to three years in prison after drawing graffiti in the Baku Metro.

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