Identity of one of French spies imprisoned in Azerbaijan revealed

The identity of one of the persons arrested for espionage activities conducted by the French Foreign Intelligence Service in Azerbaijan has been revealed.

His name is Martin Ryan, about whom French journalist Leo Nicolian of Armenian origin wrote on X on January 7, Report informs.

He noted that Ryan was arrested in Baku on December 4. Martin Ryan, CEO of Merkorama LLC, is accused of espionage. He was used (manipulated) by agents of France's 2 DGSE (Directorate-General for External Security), who were later expelled from Baku, who forced him to cooperate secretly.

Ryan, a French citizen, was arrested on December 4 for espionage for the benefit of French intelligence and is currently in prison in Baku.

According to the information previously published in the Western media, as a result of the investigations and arrests carried out by the State Security Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan in early December 2023, a wide spy network of French special services involved in various operations in Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and several countries in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia has been exposed in Azerbaijan.

In a short period of time, dozens of French secret agents, some of whom served in Azerbaijan at that time or earlier, and some of whom continued to work undercover in various countries and prestigious international organizations, were discovered.

The Azerbaijani side has not yet made an official statement regarding the mentioned arrests.

On December 20, 2023, French President Emmanuel Macron dismissed the head of the French Directorate-General of External Security (DGSE), Bernard Emie.

Nikolas Lerner, who headed the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI), was appointed the new head of the DGSE.