French Intelligence Spies On Algeria’s Relations With Azerbaijan

Details of the trial of a French businessman accused of working for French foreign intelligence revealed that the latter tasked him with researching and obtaining information related to the relations between Algeria and the Republic of Azerbaijan, one of the Caucasian countries that was part of the collapsed Soviet Union in the early 1990s.

This information was reported by Agence France-Presse (AFP) in a report on Monday, March 16, 2025, regarding the conviction of a French businessman named Martin Ryan on charges related to “espionage.” He was sentenced by an Azerbaijani court, which issued a ten-year prison sentence on Monday for the accused, who was presented as a businessman.

Investigations conducted by the judicial authorities and competent services in Azerbaijan concluded that Martin Ryan was recruited by members of the French Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE) who were working at the French Embassy in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku. These elements were expelled by the Caucasian Republic, according to the French news agency.

The investigations, which ended with the conviction of the French businessman to ten years in prison, indicate that the men of the French Directorate-General for External Security (foreign intelligence) ordered him to obtain information about the relations between Azerbaijan and Algeria, but without specifying details about the nature of what French intelligence wanted to achieve.

Algeria was not the only country whose relations with the Republic of Azerbaijan French intelligence tried to uncover. He was also tasked with investigating the hidden aspects of other countries’ relations with Baku, primarily Turkey, a neighboring country, as well as other countries such as Iran, Pakistan, and Somalia.

Martin Ryan was also asked, according to the same source, to obtain photos of weapons supplied by Pakistan to Azerbaijan, as well as information related to companies associated with Russia and China, all of which are countries aligned with the axis in which Algeria operates, which has strong relations at more than one level with Russia and especially China.

The Azerbaijani judiciary officially convicted the French businessman, Martin Ryan, of spying for Paris and sentenced him to ten years in prison after the public prosecutor sought a 15-year prison sentence. France expressed its outright rejection of these charges and considered the decision a “hostile act” towards Paris, according to the spokesperson for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs after the verdict was issued.

The accused stated that he considered himself “only guilty” because he had contacts with employees of the French embassy and did not share information about them with the Azerbaijani authorities. He also affirmed before the court that he acted without realizing that his activities could be used for espionage purposes, an indication confirming the possibility of him committing the crime of espionage. An Azerbaijani national named Azad Mammadli was also sentenced for “high treason” and convicted to twelve years in prison.

Relations between Algeria and Azerbaijan have witnessed remarkable development in recent years. The last visit of an official from this country to Algeria was in November, when Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov visited Algeria and was received by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.

During that visit, the two countries agreed to establish a “joint economic committee, including public institutions, heads of institutions, and investors from both countries.” Both countries are also considered energy producers and exporters to the European continent. Algeria had previously supported Azerbaijan’s presidency of the Non-Aligned Movement.

Azerbaijan is considered a country very close to Turkey, due to geographical proximity and the ethnic element (Azerbaijanis are of Turkish origin). The Algerian-Turkish rapprochement recorded in recent years has caused discomfort for France, as Turkish investments in Algeria have increased and received praise from President Abdelmadjid Tebboune in a press interview, where he compared Turkish investments with their French counterparts and concluded that the French mix politics with economics, unlike the Turks.