BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 8. The identity of one of the arrested for espionage activities carried out by the French Foreign Intelligence Service in Azerbaijan has become known, French journalist of Armenian origin Leo Nikolyan said in X (Twitter) on January 7, Trend reports.
According to Nikolyan, the arrested person's name is Martin Ryan.
"Martin Ryan was arrested in Baku on December 4. The CEO of the Baku-based company Merkorama LLC is accused of espionage. He was manipulated by the French agent 2 DGSE (General Directorate for External Security), who engaged him in secret cooperation and was subsequently expelled from Baku," said Nikolyan.
French citizen Martin Ryan, arrested on December 4 for espionage in favor of French intelligence, is currently under arrest in Baku.
According to information circulated in the Western press, investigations and arrests carried out by the State Security Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan in early December 2023 resulted in the exposure in Azerbaijan of an extensive network of agents of French intelligence services involved in various operations in Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan, several countries in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia.
Dozens of French spies were identified in a short period, some of whom had been operating in Azerbaijan at one point or another, and some of whom continued to work undercover in various countries and reputable international organizations.
The Azerbaijani side has not yet made an official statement on the mentioned arrests.
It became known that President Emmanuel Macron of France dismissed Bernard Emie, head of DGSE, on December 20, 2023.
Nicolas Lerner, who headed the General Directorate for Internal Security, was appointed as the new head of the external intelligence structure.