The arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov is “not a political decision in any way”, says Emmanuel Macron

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The President of the Republic has come out of his reserve on this legal affair, while the arrest of the 39-year-old Franco-Russian has sparked numerous international reactions.

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French President during a speech for the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Liberation, in Paris, on August 25, 2024. (TERESA SUAREZ / AFP)

He intends to react to the “fake news”. Emmanuel Macron assured, Monday August 26 on the social network X, that the arrest on French territory of the boss of the encrypted messaging service Telegram, Pavel Durov, was not “not a political decision in any way.” This “took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation. It is in no way a political decision. It is up to the judges to decide,” declared the French president, recalling that “L“France is more than anything attached to freedom of expression and communication, to innovation and to the spirit of enterprise” and that she “will remain”.

The head of state spoke as the police custody of Pavel Durov, arrested on Saturday at Le Bourget airport (Seine-Saint-Denis), was extended on Monday. According to information from franceinfo, the French justice system accuses him of not responding to judicial requisitions and of hosting groups carrying out illegal activities on his site (fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organized crime, advocacy of terrorism or even fraud).

His arrest sparked widespread international reactions. “#FreePavel”, posted on X the platform’s boss, Elon Musk, before publishing a new message in French saying “Freedom. Freedom! Freedom?” The Kremlin, for its part, judged on Monday “inappropriate” to comment on the arrest of Pavel Durov for the time being. “We do not know specifically what Durov is accused of, we have not heard any official statements on this subject”Dmitry Peskov told reporters.


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