On Tuesday, Russia implied that the detention of Pavel Durov, chief executive officer of Telegram, might be an intimidation tactic and a threat to free speech if France does not present valid proof of his offences. Over the weekend, French authorities arrested Durov as part of an ongoing inquiry, initiated on July 8, centering on organized crime, narcotics trafficking, deceit, and the dissemination of explicit images involving minors via the Telegram platform. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov affirmed that Russia is prepared to provide necessary aid to Durov, who still holds Russian citizenship, amidst his precarious situation.
The Kremlin on Tuesday voiced concerns to France over the imprisonment of Pavel Durov, the originator and CEO of the messaging software Telegram. The messaging from Russia suggested potential political motivations behind the arrest. French authorities had generated an arrest warrant for Durov during the previous Saturday, following an investigation begun on July 8 about Telegram’s possible association to organized crime, drug commerce, fraudulence, and transmission of pornographic portrayals of underaged individuals.
During a press interaction on Tuesday, Dmitry Peskov, who serves as the Kremlin spokesperson, appealed to French authorities asking them to supplement concrete evidence buttressing their allegations against Durov. This call for evidence was reported by both Reuters and TASS, the Russian national news outlet. Peskov postulated that the seizure of Durov might be seen as a seemingly oppressive act and an affront to free speech, provided France is unable to furnish substantial proof of his criminal involvement.
Durov, despite being born on Russian soil, possesses citizenship of two nations – France and the United Arab Emirates. Nevertheless, Russia continues to recognize him as its national, asserted Peskov, while indicating the readiness of the nation to extend necessary support for him. However, Peskov acknowledged the intricate nature of the issue at hand.
Durov, who is 39 years old, ranks among the most well-known tech billionaires hailing from Russia. He initiated Telegram in the year 2013, positioning it as an unfettered and unbiased medium, serving the wide array of world citizens with different opinions. As per Forbes, his estimated net worth is around the figure of $15.5 billion, which secures him the ranking of the 121st richest individual globally.
During 2018, Russia imposed a ban on Telegram, alongside penalizing the company on multiple occasions for its refusal to remove purportedly illegitimate content. However, in 2020, Telegram’s usability was reinstated in Russia, leading to conjectures of a potential connection between Telegram and the Russian government, a claim overwhelmingly refuted by Telegram.
Telegram, backed by a global user base counting to 800 million, enjoys substantial popularity in Russia and Ukraine. The app is not just used by civilians, but also finds application among government functionaries and military personnel on either side of the contentious Russia-Ukraine warfront.
Before his arrival at France’s Le Bourget airport via his personal aircraft, Durov had reportedly visited Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, as stated by a multitude of media companies. However, this information couldn’t be individually verified by CNBC. Rumors were afloat that a meeting was planned between him and the Russian President Vladimir Putin, but Dmitry Peskov, speaking to the BBC, denied the occurrence of any such interaction.
The admonishment given by Russia to France comes at a time when the rapport between the two nations is strained, given Putin’s continuous incursion into Ukraine. In April, French president Emmanuel Macron, a notable backer of Ukraine among the European leaders, declared the ‘risk our Europe could die’ without the implementation of vital reforms to aid the defense of Ukraine.
Macron underscored the primary threat for European security as the ongoing war in Ukraine during a speech delivered then. These findings were independently confirmed and reported by Ying Shan Lee and Natasha Turak from CNBC.
Russia Defends Telegram CEO Pavel Durov amid Arrest appeared first on Real News Now.
About Author
