Macron: Arrest of Telegram's Pavel Durov wasn't political | Breaking News, Entertainment

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron mentioned Monday that the arrest in France of the CEO of the favored messaging app Telegram, Pavel Durov, wasn’t a political transfer however a part of an impartial investigation.

Durov was detained Saturday at Le Bourget airport in a judicial inquiry opened final month involving 12 alleged prison violations, the Paris prosecutor’s workplace mentioned Monday.

It mentioned in an announcement that the suspected violations embrace complicity in promoting baby sexual abuse materials and in drug trafficking, fraud, abetting organized crime transactions and refusing to share data or paperwork with investigators when required by regulation.

In France’s first public touch upon the arrest, Macron posted on the social media platform X that his nation “is deeply dedicated” to freedom of expression however “freedoms are upheld inside a authorized framework, each on social media and in actual life, to guard residents and respect their elementary rights.”

Denouncing what he referred to as false data, Macron mentioned the arrest “is on no account a political determination. It’s as much as the judges to rule on the matter.”

Durov’s detention was prolonged till Monday night time and may be extended till Wednesday night earlier than authorities should launch or cost him, the prosecutor’s workplace mentioned.

Durov is a citizen of Russia, France, the United Arab Emirates and the Caribbean island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis.

Russian authorities officers have expressed outrage at his detention, with some calling it politically motivated and proof of the West’s double normal on freedom of speech. The outcry has raised eyebrows amongst Kremlin critics as a result of in 2018 Russian authorities themselves tried to dam Telegram however failed, withdrawing the ban in 2020.

Early Tuesday, the International Ministry of the United Arab Emirates mentioned that it “is intently following the case” and had requested France to supply Durov “with all the required consular companies in an pressing method.”

France and the UAE keep a detailed army relationship, with the French working a naval base in Abu Dhabi and Emirati forces utilizing French-built Leclerc tanks and Rafale fighter jets.

Telegram, which says it has practically a billion customers worldwide, was based by Durov and his brother after he himself confronted strain from the Russian authorities.

In 2013, he bought his stake in VKontakte, a well-liked Russian social networking web site which he launched in 2006.

The corporate got here underneath strain amid Russian authorities’s crackdown after mass pro-democracy protests that rocked Moscow on the finish of 2011 and 2012.

Durov mentioned the authorities demanded that the location take down on-line communities of Russian opposition activists, and later that it hand over private information of customers who took half within the 2013 common rebellion in Ukraine, which ultimately ousted a pro-Kremlin president.

Durov mentioned in a current interview that he had turned down these calls for and left the nation.

The demonstrations prompted Russian authorities to clamp down on the digital area, and Telegram and its pro-privacy rhetoric provided a handy manner for Russians to speak and share information.

Telegram additionally continues to be a well-liked supply of stories in Ukraine, the place each media retailers and officers use it to share data on the battle, and ship missile and air raid alerts.

In an announcement posted on its platform after his arrest, Telegram mentioned it abides by EU legal guidelines, and its moderation is “inside trade requirements and consistently enhancing.”

“It’s absurd to say {that a} platform or its proprietor are accountable for abuse of that platform,” Telegram’s publish mentioned. “Nearly a billion customers globally use Telegram as technique of communication and as a supply of significant data. We’re awaiting a immediate decision of this case. Telegram is with you all.”

A French investigative choose prolonged Durov’s detention order on Sunday night time, French media reported on Monday. Underneath French regulation, Durov can stay in custody for questioning for as much as 4 days. After that, judges should determine to both cost him or launch him.

The Russian Embassy in Paris mentioned consular officers had been denied entry to Durov as a result of French authorities view his French citizenship as his main one. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov mentioned Monday, “We nonetheless don’t know what precisely Durov is being accused of. … Let’s wait till the costs are introduced – if they’re introduced.’’

Elon Musk, the billionaire proprietor of X who has up to now referred to as himself a “ free speech absolutist,” posted “#freePavel” in help of Durov following the arrest.

Western governments have typically criticized Telegram for an absence of content material moderation, which consultants say opens up the messaging platform for potential use in cash laundering, drug trafficking and the sharing of fabric linked to the sexual exploitation of minors.

In 2022, Germany issued fines of $5 million towards Telegram’s operators for failing to ascertain a lawful approach to reporting unlawful content material or to call an entity in Germany to obtain official communication. Each are required underneath German legal guidelines that regulate massive on-line platforms.

Final 12 months, Brazil briefly suspended Telegram over its failure to give up information on neo-Nazi exercise associated to a police inquiry into college shootings in November.