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Arrest of Telegram CEO: Unprecedented indictment of Pavel Durov
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was indicted on the evening of Wednesday, August 28. Released on bail, he must remain in France and report to a police station twice a week. Moscow has warned of political persecution of the Franco-Russian billionaire.
(France 2)
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was indicted on the evening of Wednesday, August 28. Released on bail, he must remain in France and report to a police station twice a week. Moscow has warned of political persecution of the Franco-Russian billionaire.
Pavel Durov left the Paris courthouse with a quick step, and without a word to journalists. The founder and boss of the secure messaging service Telegram, indicted by a judge, was released on bail of 5 million euros. He is now indicted for 12 very serious offenses: refusal to communicate information to the courts, complicity in the dissemination of child pornography, complicity in drug trafficking and laundering of crimes.
Never before has the French justice system struck so hard against the head of a platform. “The social network is accused of having been informed of the crimes committed on its platform and of having done nothing,” observes Alexandre Lazarègue, a lawyer specializing in digital law. Eleven years after its creation in Russia, Telegram claims nearly a billion users, attracted by the promise of confidential exchanges.
Among them are criminal or terrorist organizations, which use the network to sell drugs or weapons. No link with Pavel Dourov, however, assures his lawyer, David-Olivier Kaminski, who judges “It is totally absurd to think that the head of a social network could be involved in criminal acts that do not concern him either directly or indirectly.”.
