BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 24. The preliminary investigation of the criminal case initiated by the State Security Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan against Martin Ryan, who was arrested on charges of spying for France, has been completed, Trend reports.
The case was sent to the Baku Court on Grave Crimes for consideration. Elmin Rustamov was appointed as the judge who will preside over the trial.
Martin Ryan and others were arrested on December 4, 2023. Martin Ryan, CEO of Mercorama LLC, was charged with espionage.
According to the indictment, Martin Ryan was used as a spy agent by the French Directorate-General for External Security, that involved him in secret collaboration and he was subsequently expelled from Baku as a "persona non grata".
Along with Martin Ryan, a citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Azad Mammadli, will be tried in this criminal case on charges of "high treason".
On December 20, 2023, DGSE Director Bernard Émié was dismissed from his post after the exposure of a large spy network and failures of the service.