Mahakama nchini Azerbaijan Jumatatu imemhukumu raia wa Ufaransa, Martin Ryan, kifungo cha miaka 10 jela baada ya kupatikana na hatia ya ujasusi kwa niaba ya Paris, tuhuma ambazo alikiri kwa sehemu, kwa mujibu wa shirika la habari la serikali ya Urusi RIA Novosti.
Mamlaka ya mji mkuu Baku ilimtuhumu Ryan—aliyekamatwa Desemba 2023—kwa kukusanya taarifa za siri kuhusu ushirikiano wa kijeshi wa Azerbaijan na Uturuki pamoja na Pakistan. Pia alituhumiwa kusaidia kuajiri raia wa Azerbaijan wanaozungumza Kifaransa ili washirikiane na idara ya ujasusi ya Ufaransa.
Kabla ya kukamatwa, Ryan alikuwa akifanya kazi nchini Azerbaijan katika kampuni ya kuagiza vyakula kutoka nje ambayo pia ilitoa huduma za ushauri wa kibiashara. Waendesha mashtaka walidai kuwa aliwezesha mawasiliano kati ya ujasusi wa Ufaransa na raia wa Azerbaijan Azad Mammadli.
Mammadli, ambaye alifikishwa mahakamani pamoja na Ryan, alihukumiwa kifungo cha miaka 12 jela Jumatatu. Hata hivyo, mwanzoni mwa kesi hiyo alikanusha tuhuma zote dhidi yake.
Mahusiano kati ya Baku na Paris yamekuwa na mvutano kutokana na uhusiano wa karibu wa Ufaransa na Armenia, taifa ambalo Azerbaijan imewahi kupigana nalo vita mara kadhaa katika kipindi cha miongo minne iliyopita. Ufaransa pia ina jamii kubwa ya Waarmenia na imekuwa ikiipatia Armenia silaha. Mwezi Mei mwaka jana, Azerbaijan ilimsamehe raia mwingine wa Ufaransa, Theo Hugo Clerc, aliyekuwa amehukumiwa kifungo cha miaka mitatu kwa kuchora grafiti katika metro ya Baku.
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A court in Azerbaijan sentenced a French citizen to ten years in jail on Monday after finding him guilty of spying on behalf of Paris, a charge he partially pleaded guilty to, Russia's RIA state news agency reported.
Baku had accused the man, Martin Ryan - who was arrested in December 2023 - of collecting secret information about its military cooperation with Turkey and Pakistan. It had also accused him of helping to recruit French-speaking Azerbaijanis to cooperate with French intelligence. Prior to his arrest, Ryan had been working in Azerbaijan for a food importing company that also offered consulting services. Prosecutors alleged he had facilitated contact between French intelligence and Azad Mammadli, an Azerbaijani citizen who went on trial alongside Ryan and was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Monday.
Mammadli denied any guilt at the start of the trial.
Ties between Baku and Paris have been strained over France's close ties to Armenia, against whom Azerbaijan fought several wars in the last four decades. France has a large Armenian diaspora and supplies arms to Yerevan. Last May, Azerbaijan pardoned another French citizen, Theo Hugo Clerc, who had been jailed for three years for drawing graffiti in the Baku metro.
Source: Reuters
Mamlaka ya mji mkuu Baku ilimtuhumu Ryan—aliyekamatwa Desemba 2023—kwa kukusanya taarifa za siri kuhusu ushirikiano wa kijeshi wa Azerbaijan na Uturuki pamoja na Pakistan. Pia alituhumiwa kusaidia kuajiri raia wa Azerbaijan wanaozungumza Kifaransa ili washirikiane na idara ya ujasusi ya Ufaransa.
Kabla ya kukamatwa, Ryan alikuwa akifanya kazi nchini Azerbaijan katika kampuni ya kuagiza vyakula kutoka nje ambayo pia ilitoa huduma za ushauri wa kibiashara. Waendesha mashtaka walidai kuwa aliwezesha mawasiliano kati ya ujasusi wa Ufaransa na raia wa Azerbaijan Azad Mammadli.
Mammadli, ambaye alifikishwa mahakamani pamoja na Ryan, alihukumiwa kifungo cha miaka 12 jela Jumatatu. Hata hivyo, mwanzoni mwa kesi hiyo alikanusha tuhuma zote dhidi yake.
Mahusiano kati ya Baku na Paris yamekuwa na mvutano kutokana na uhusiano wa karibu wa Ufaransa na Armenia, taifa ambalo Azerbaijan imewahi kupigana nalo vita mara kadhaa katika kipindi cha miongo minne iliyopita. Ufaransa pia ina jamii kubwa ya Waarmenia na imekuwa ikiipatia Armenia silaha. Mwezi Mei mwaka jana, Azerbaijan ilimsamehe raia mwingine wa Ufaransa, Theo Hugo Clerc, aliyekuwa amehukumiwa kifungo cha miaka mitatu kwa kuchora grafiti katika metro ya Baku.
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A court in Azerbaijan sentenced a French citizen to ten years in jail on Monday after finding him guilty of spying on behalf of Paris, a charge he partially pleaded guilty to, Russia's RIA state news agency reported.
Baku had accused the man, Martin Ryan - who was arrested in December 2023 - of collecting secret information about its military cooperation with Turkey and Pakistan. It had also accused him of helping to recruit French-speaking Azerbaijanis to cooperate with French intelligence. Prior to his arrest, Ryan had been working in Azerbaijan for a food importing company that also offered consulting services. Prosecutors alleged he had facilitated contact between French intelligence and Azad Mammadli, an Azerbaijani citizen who went on trial alongside Ryan and was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Monday.
Mammadli denied any guilt at the start of the trial.
Ties between Baku and Paris have been strained over France's close ties to Armenia, against whom Azerbaijan fought several wars in the last four decades. France has a large Armenian diaspora and supplies arms to Yerevan. Last May, Azerbaijan pardoned another French citizen, Theo Hugo Clerc, who had been jailed for three years for drawing graffiti in the Baku metro.
Source: Reuters
