French citizen Ryan Martin Richard, who was convicted of espionage, has been pardoned by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
President Aliyev signed a decree on September 23 pardoning a number of convicted individuals, according to the Azerbaijani president’s official website.
The decree included five foreign nationals among those pardoned.
Martin Ryan, a citizen of France, was sentenced to 10 years in prison by the Baku Grave Crimes Court under its judgment dated 16 March 2026.
According to the indictment, Martin Ryan was suspected of receiving assignments and engaging in activities related to obtaining information about weapons and ammunition produced in Azerbaijan, the equipping of the Azerbaijani Army during the 44‑day Patriotic War of 2020, individuals serving or discharged from military service in the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan, persons educated abroad in French, foreign citizens and legal entities operating in Azerbaijan, organizing secret money transfers through Azerbaijan to other countries on the instructions of French intelligence, Azerbaijan”s relations and cooperation with the United Kingdom, Algeria, Türkiye, Pakistan, Iran, China, Somalia, Central Asian states and other countries, as well as military cooperation plans and imported weapons.
He was arrested by the State Security Service (SSS) of Azerbaijan on December 4, 2023. Martin Ryan, CEO of Merkorama LLC, was charged with spying. According to the indictment, Martin Ryan was recruited into secret cooperation and used as an agent-spy by employees of France’s DGSE (Directorate General for External Security), who were later declared persona non grata and expelled from Baku. In this criminal case, Martin Ryan was charged under Article 276 (espionage) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan.