France 'refusing to cooperate' over Durov arrest: Moscow
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Pavel Durov is accused of neglecting to take steps to prevent illegal activity on his site as Russian authorities rallied to his defense.
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A photo of Pavel Durov in a visit to Uzbekistan in June 2024 (Telegram)
Following the arrest of Telegram messaging platform creator Pavel Durov the Russian embassy in France accused French authorities on Sunday of "refusing to cooperate."
The billionaire co-founder and CEO of Telegram was arrested at Le Bourget airport near Paris on Saturday evening, according to TF1 TV. Durov, who was traveling from Azerbaijan on his private jet, was detained around 8 p.m. local time due to an outstanding arrest warrant in France.
According to French media, this comes as part of a preliminary police investigation.
The 39-year-old Russia-born entrepreneur has been residing in Dubai and holds dual citizenship in France and the UAE.
BREAKING: Telegram founder Pavel Durov has been arrested at a French airport, facing 20 years in jail for refusing to censor his platform. Charges include terrorism and money laundering. TON down 14%. Is this a deep state move against free speech #PavelDurov #Telegram #FreeSpeech pic.twitter.com/z98wMLfaK7
— Aarish Ansari ❄️ (@aarishuu) August 24, 2024
The embassy stated in a statement obtained by Ria Novosti: "We immediately asked French authorities to explain the reasons for this detention and demanded that his rights be protected and that consular access be granted. Up to now, the French side is refusing to cooperate on this question."
Durov is accused of neglecting to take steps to prevent illegal activity on his site as Russian authorities rallied to his defense.
Blasting the West, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova questioned whether international human rights groups will pressure France after its authorities detained Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov like they did when Russia proposed regulations for the platform's operations.
Tatiana Moskalkova, the rights ombudsman, stated that "it is obvious that the real reason of Pavel Durov's arrest is an attempt to close Telegram as an internet resource where you can find the truth about world events."
Former President Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's leading hawk during the Ukraine war stated that he had "a long time ago" questioned Durov why he did not want to collaborate with Russian state officials and informed him that he would face "serious problems."
He stated that Durov had "made a mistake" in traveling overseas and that he should "finally realize that the fatherland, like an era, cannot be chosen."
Telegram is widely used in Russia and is particularly popular among government officials.
Margarita Simonyan, a prominent figure on state television, urged people to erase their Telegram messages and not use it for sensitive conversations.
She claimed Durov was "arrested to take away (Telegram's) keys."
"And he will give them."
