French President Emmanuel Macron said on August 26th that the arrest of Pavel Durov, CEO of the popular messaging app Telegram, was not a political move but part of an independent investigation.
French media reported that Durov was detained at a Paris airport on Saturday on an arrest warrant alleging that his platform was used for money laundering, drug trafficking and other crimes.
In France’s first public comment on the arrest, Macron announced on social media platform X that his country was “deeply committed” to freedom of expression, but that “freedoms are supported within the legal framework, both on social media and in real life, to protect citizens and respect their basic rights”.
Condemning what he called false information circulating about the arrest, he said it was “in no way a political decision”.
“It’s up to the judges to decide on that,” Macron said.
Russian government officials have expressed outrage at Durov’s arrest, with some calling it politically motivated and showing the West’s double standards on free speech.
Representatives of Durov, who has dual citizenship of France and Russia, could not immediately get a comment.
In a statement, the Telegram platform emphasized that it complies with the laws of the European Union (EU), including the law on digital services, and that its direction is “within industry standards and is constantly improving.”
“It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for the misuse of that platform,” the Telegram post said.
Durov left Russia ten years ago, and in 2021 he received French citizenship, while he mostly resides in the United Arab Emirates, where his company’s office is also located.
He previously created the Russian social network VKontakte, and launched Telegram in 2013, Radio Slobodna Evropa writes.
E.Dz.
