The Paris prosecutor’s office said the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov is related to a judicial inquiry opened in July.
French leadership is hitting back at claims that its arrest of messaging app Telegram’s top officer over the weekend is politically motivated.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Aug. 26 that the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov on Saturday stemmed from an independent investigation and is not politically motivated.Macron posted France’s first official statement on social media platform X, saying that France “is deeply committed” to freedom of expression but that “freedoms are upheld within a legal framework, both on social media and in real life, to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights.”
Macron also denounced accusations of political motivation as false, adding that the arrest “is in no way a political decision. It is up to the judges to rule on the matter.”
The Paris prosecutor’s office also issued its first statement on the arrest on Monday, revealing that Durov was brought into custody due to a judicial inquiry opened in July involving a dozen different alleged crimes.
The prosecutor’s office said that Durov’s alleged crimes include complicity in the sale of child pornography and illicit drugs, fraud, abetting