Russia criticized France after arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov

Russia criticized France after the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov who was arrested on August 24, 2024, at Paris airport. It is significant to note that Pavel was born in Russia and holds dual citizenship in France and UAE, where Telegram is headquartered.

His arrest came on charges of not doing enough to stop illegal activities on Telegram app. French court authorities extended his police custody on August 25, 2024, following his arrest.

The court gave this decision on suspicion of charges against him connected to the widely used but controversial messaging app, Telegram.

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An investigating magistrate in charge of the case decided to keep Pavel in custody beyond last night. The first round of interrogation can take up to 96 hours to complete.

The judge will then have the option of either releasing him or filing charges and remanding him in custody until the completion of this detention phase.

Pavel’s arrest at Le Bourget airport outside of Paris is one of the significant tech industry developments in the world. However, the Russian embassy claimed after requesting access to Pavel, French authorities refused to cooperate with them. Following this, Russia criticized France for not giving its officials access to Pavel.

Elon Musk, a fellow tech billionaire also supported Russian defense after it accused French authorities of not cooperating with them.

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Pavel had just returned from Baku, Azerbaijan at the airport and was about to have dinner in Paris when his arrest happened. A bodyguard and a personal assistant were also with him.

OFMIN issued an arrest warrant for Pavel in an early investigation into alleged offenses including fraud, drug trafficking, and cyberbullying.

Organized crime and terrorism promotion are also among his offenses. OFMIN in Frace is responsible for stopping violence against minors.