French President Emmanuel Macron, pictured above [File]
| Picture credit score: REUTERS
French President Emmanuel Macron mentioned Monday that the arrest in France of the chief govt of standard messaging app Telegram, Pavel Durov, was not a political determination however a part of an unbiased investigation.
Durov was arrested on Saturday at Le Bourget airport as a part of a judicial investigation opened final month into 12 alleged legal offences, the Paris prosecutor’s workplace mentioned on Monday.
In an announcement, it mentioned the alleged violations embody complicity within the sale of kid sexual abuse materials and drug trafficking, fraud, complicity in 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 social media platform X that his nation is “deeply dedicated” to freedom of expression, however “freedoms are defended inside a authorized framework, each on social media and in actual life, to guard residents and respect their basic rights.”
Macron denounced what he referred to as false data and mentioned that the arrest “is by no means a political determination. It’s as much as the judges to determine on the matter.”
Durov’s detention was prolonged till Monday night and will final till Wednesday night earlier than authorities should both launch him or cost him, prosecutors mentioned.
Durov is a citizen of Russia, France, the United Arab Emirates and the Caribbean island nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Russian authorities officers have expressed outrage at his arrest, with some calling it politically motivated and proof of the West’s double requirements on free speech. The protest has stunned Kremlin critics as a result of in 2018 Russian authorities themselves tried to dam Telegram however failed, lifting the ban in 2020.
On Tuesday morning, the UAE International Ministry mentioned it was “intently following the case” and had requested France to supply Durov “with all obligatory consular providers as a matter of urgency.”
France and the United Arab Emirates have an in depth navy relationship: the French function a naval base in Abu Dhabi and Emirati forces use French-made Leclerc tanks and Rafale fighter jets.
Telegram, which claims to have almost a billion customers worldwide, was based by Durov and his brother after he himself confronted stress from Russian authorities.
In 2013, he offered his stake in VKontakte, a well-liked Russian social community he launched in 2006.
The corporate got here beneath stress amid a Russian authorities crackdown following large pro-democracy protests that rocked Moscow in late 2011 and 2012.
Durov mentioned authorities demanded that the location take away on-line communities of Russian opposition activists after which hand over private information of customers who took half within the 2013 standard rebellion in Ukraine that finally toppled a pro-Kremlin president.
Durov mentioned in a current interview that he had rejected these calls for and left the nation.
The protests prompted Russian authorities to clamp down within the digital house, and Telegram and its pro-privacy rhetoric supplied a handy manner for Russians to speak and share information.
Telegram additionally stays a well-liked supply of stories in Ukraine, the place each media shops and officers use it to share details about the conflict and ship alerts about missiles and airstrikes.
In an announcement posted on its platform after his arrest, Telegram mentioned it complies with EU legal guidelines and that its moderation is “inside trade requirements and continuously enhancing.”
“It’s absurd to say {that a} platform or its proprietor is accountable for the abuse of that platform,” Telegram’s put up mentioned. “Almost a billion customers around the globe depend on Telegram as a method of communication and as a supply of significant data. We’re trying ahead to a immediate decision of this case. Telegram stands with you all.”
The French investigating decide on Sunday night prolonged Durov’s arrest warrant, French media reported on Monday. Below French regulation, Durov could be held for questioning for as much as 4 days. After that point, judges should determine whether or not to 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 take into account his French citizenship to be major. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov mentioned Monday: “We nonetheless do not know precisely what Durov is accused of… Let’s wait till the fees are introduced, if they’re introduced in any respect.”
Elon Musk, the billionaire proprietor of X who has previously described himself as a “free speech absolutist,” posted “#freePavel” in assist of Durov following the arrest.
Western governments have typically criticised Telegram for its lack of content material moderation, which specialists say opens the messaging platform as much as potential use in cash laundering, drug trafficking and the sharing of fabric linked to the sexual exploitation of minors.
In 2022, Germany imposed $5 million in fines on Telegram operators for failing to ascertain a authorized method to report unlawful content material or for failing to call an entity in Germany to obtain official communications. Each are obligatory beneath German legal guidelines regulating massive on-line platforms.
Final yr, Brazil briefly suspended Telegram for failing to supply information on neo-Nazi exercise associated to a police investigation into the November faculty shootings.
