French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday (August 26) denied any “political” link to the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov.
Durov was arrested by the French authorities on Saturday (August 24) allegedly over failing to curb the spread of illegal content and activities on Telegram, a platform with over 900 million users.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, Macron said that he was addressing “false information” concerning the case.
So why was Durov arrested?
President Macron said that “the arrest of Telegram CEO on French soil took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation.”
“It is in no way a political decision. It is up to the judges to rule on the matter,” he added.
I have seen false information regarding France following the arrest of Pavel Durov.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) August 26, 2024
France is deeply committed to freedom of expression and communication, to innovation, and to the spirit of entrepreneurship. It will remain so.
In a state governed by the rule of law,…
Pavel Durov, a Russian-born billionaire with dual French-Russian citizenship, was arrested on Saturday after flying into Le Bourget airport outside Paris. The 39-year-old billionaire, as per reports, was flying from Azerbaijan.
He has reportedly been arrested as part of a preliminary investigation into a number of alleged offences, including fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organised crime and promotion of terrorism on his platform.
France’s OFMIN, a body tasked with preventing violence against minors, as per the news agency AFP, had issued an arrest warrant for Durov.
On Sunday (August 25), an investigating magistrate extended Durov’s detention. In France, as per the law, the initial detention for questioning can last up to 96 hours and when this period ends, the magistrate can either free Durov or press charges and remand him in custody.
Telegram denies charges, Kremlin has no information about arrest
The Kremlin said on Monday (August 26) that it had received no information from France on why it was holding Pavel Durov.
“We do not know concretely what Durov is accused of. We have not heard any official declaration on this subject,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“Before saying anything, we need to wait for the situation to become clearer… Without that, it would be inappropriate to comment,” he added.
Durov’s company, Telegram, said that “Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe.”
“Telegram abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act — its moderation is within industry standards,” it added.
“It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform.”