Russia Calls Detained Telegram Founder A 'Political Prisoner’ – Demands France Provide Answers

Russia is demanding answers following the arrest Pavel Durov, the billionaire co-founder and CEO of messaging app Telegram. He was detained by French authorities at the Bourget airport outside of Paris Saturday evening after arriving in his private jet.

The Russian embassy in Paris has demanded that the French government explain itself, and has so far said that French authorities are being uncooperative. The latest reports say Durov is expected to appear before a judge Sunday evening.

The embassy said of the 39-year-old Russian-born billionaire that „as soon as the news of Durov’s arrest broke, we immediately addressed the French authorities for clarification on the reasons for it and demanded that they ensure the protection of his rights and provide consular access to him.”

He not only has Russian citizenship by virtue of his birth there, but also holds dual citizenship in France and the UAE.

Russian diplomats say there has been no reply from Paris: „The French side has so far been avoiding cooperation on this issue,” a statement said. Russian lawmakers have gone so far as to say he is now a „political prisoner”.

Russian member of parliament Maria Butina said on Sunday, „Pavel Durov is a political prisoner – a victim of a witch-hunt by the West.

„The arrest of Pavel Durov means there is no freedom of speech – it means that freedom of speech in Europe is dead,” she continued. „Now basically they have a hostage and they will try to blackmail Russia, they will try to blackmail all the users of Telegram and not only try to get control but also try to block the network here in Russia.”

Additionally, deputy speaker of Russian parliament, Vladislav Davankov, described that the tech entrepreneur’s arrest „could be politically motivated and used to gain access to the personal information of Telegram users.”

And Dmitry Medvedev, who is the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, said Durov is being targeted because he’s Russian. „He miscalculated,” Medvedev said. „For all our common enemies now, he is Russian – and therefore unpredictable and dangerous.” Medvedev asserted, „Durov should finally realize that one cannot chose one’s the fatherland.”

One interesting angle is that the app, well-known for being highly secure as it provides end-to-end encryption, is widely used among the Russian military, as well as the common population.

One little-known feature of this war is that the Ukrainian military largely communicates via Signal and the Russian military via Telegram.

— Yaroslav Trofimov (@yarotrof) August 24, 2024

Durov was detained by the National Anti-Fraud Office (ONAF), over the alleged facilitation of various crimes including terrorism, narcotics trafficking, and fraud. „On his platform, he allowed an incalculable number of offences and crimes to be committed, for which he did nothing to moderate or cooperate,” a source told TF1 TV.

The arrest was characterized by Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom as part of the „crackdown against free speech.”

Other prominent figures have voiced alarm over what this means for free speech, or even the question of who is next to be targeted by Western governments…

Pavel Durov left Russia when the government tried to control his social media company, Telegram. But in the end, it wasn’t Putin who arrested him for allowing the public to exercise free speech. It was a western country, a Biden administration ally and enthusiastic NATO member,… https://t.co/F83E9GbNHC

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) August 24, 2024

I’m a little late to this, but for good reason — I’ve just safely departed from Europe.

France has threatened Rumble, and now they have crossed a red line by arresting Telegram’s CEO, Pavel Durov, reportedly for not censoring speech.

Rumble will not stand for this behavior and…

— Chris Pavlovski (@chrispavlovski) August 25, 2024

And Elon Musk has been highlighting the implications of Durov’s arrest through Sunday…

POV: It’s 2030 in Europe and you’re being executed for liking a meme https://t.co/OkZ6YS3u2P

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 24, 2024

There are some reports saying that given the potential charges stacked against him, Durov could possibly be facing up to 20 years in prison. But there still remains many unknowns, as well as confusion, surrounding his detention.

Edward Snowden has also weighed in…

The arrest of @Durov is an assault on the basic human rights of speech and association. I am surprised and deeply saddened that Macron has descended to the level of taking hostages as a means for gaining access to private communications. It lowers not only France, but the world.

— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) August 25, 2024

Ironically, back in 2014 Durov left Russia after he refused to comply with demands to shut down opposition communities on his VK social media platform, which he has since sold. He now lives in Dubai, where Telegram is based.