Telegram founder Pavel Durov is a “political prisoner” after his arrest in France, a Russian official has said.
The 39-year-old Russian-born billionaire behind the encrypted messaging app was detained after his private jet landed at Le Bourget airport on the outskirts of Paris on Saturday.
It is unclear what Mr Durov was arrested for but BFMTV reported the warrant concerned a lack of moderators on Telegram and potential criminal activity, including the app’s possible use in money laundering, drug trafficking or sharing of child sex abuse content.
Russian lawmakers have condemned his arrest, with Maria Butina – who spent 15 months in a US prison for acting as an unregistered Russian agent – accusing Europe of trying to seize control of Telegram.
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“Pavel Durov is a political prisoner – a victim of a witch-hunt by the West,” she said.
“The arrest of Pavel Durov means there is no freedom of speech – it means that freedom of speech in Europe is dead.
“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.”
Paper planes, referring to the logo of the Telegram messaging app, have been placed in Moscow in support of Durov following his arrest. Pic: Reuters/Yulia Morozova
Mr Durov left Russia in 2014 after losing control of his previous social media company Vkontakte (VK).
He refused to comply with government demands to shut down opposition groups on the platform and would not hand over data on Ukrainian protesters to security agencies.
He moved to Dubai in 2017 and became a French citizen in August 2021.
The Russian embassy in France has also called for consular access to Mr Durov and demanded his rights be ensured, according to Russian state news agency TASS.
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France has so far “avoided engagement” on the situation with Durov and Russian diplomats are in contact with his lawyer, the embassy said.
Local reports suggest Mr Durov could face an indictment on Sunday. The French interior ministry, police and Paris prosecutor’s office had no comment on his arrest.
Telegram is one of the most downloaded apps in the world, with close to one billion users.
It offers end-to-end encryption – effectively protecting data from being intercepted – and has a strong focus on privacy.