ALBAWABA - Following the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in France, key Russian officials at the Ministry of Defense and numerous businessmen have been directed to remove their official communication on Telegram, according to Ukrainian National News.
Following the 39-year-old tech billionaire's detention on Sunday, Moscow sent a warning to Paris, requesting that he be granted his legal rights, CNBC reports, while Elon Musk, owner of X who claims to be a free speech advocate, claimed that free expression in Europe was being targeted.
Shortly after arriving on a private plane late on Saturday, Pavel Durov, the affluent creator and owner of the Telegram messaging software, was taken into custody at Le Bourget airport south of Paris, according to a police source. Durov is of Russian descent.
Although the official reason for Durov's detention is unknown yet, BFMTV reports that the warrant raised concerns about potentially illegal activities on Telegram, such as the app's possible utilization for money laundering, drug trafficking, or the sharing of information that shows child exploitation.
Russian lawmakers have expressed disapproval of the imprisonment, with Maria Butina, who spent 15 months in a U.S. jail for acting as an unregistered Russian agent, claiming that Europe is trying to acquire control of Telegram, according to Sky News, saying “Pavel Durov is a political prisoner - a victim of a witch-hunt by the West.”
The Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, also commented on the arrest, saying “Do you think this time they will appeal to Paris and demand Durov’s release, or will they swallow their tongues?” as reported by The Telegraph.
