Durov was detained on Saturday at Le Bourget airport exterior Paris as a part of a judicial inquiry opened final month involving 12 alleged legal violations.
“An investigating decide has ended Pavel Durov’s police custody and may have him dropped at courtroom for a primary look and a doable indictment,” a press release from the Paris prosecutor’s workplace mentioned on Wednesday.
Allegations in opposition to the Russia-born Durov, who’s a French citizen, embody that his platform is getting used for youngster sexual abuse materials and drug trafficking, fraud and abetting organised crime transactions, and that Telegram refused to share data or paperwork with investigators when required by legislation.
Durov’s arrest in France has brought on outrage in Russia, with some authorities officers calling it politically motivated and proof of the West’s double customary on freedom of speech.
The outcry has raised eyebrows amongst Kremlin critics as a result of in 2018, Russian authorities themselves tried to dam the Telegram app however failed, withdrawing the ban in 2020.
In Iran, the place Telegram is broadly used regardless of being formally banned after years of protests difficult the nation’s Shiite theocracy, Durov’s arrest in France prompted feedback from the Islamic Republic’s supreme chief.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei weighed in with veiled reward for France for being “strict” in opposition to those that “violate your governance” of the web.
French President Emmanuel Macron mentioned Monday that Durov’s arrest wasn’t a political transfer however a part of an unbiased investigation.
Macron posted on X that his nation “is deeply dedicated” to freedom of expression however “freedoms are upheld inside a authorized framework, each on social media and in actual life, to guard residents and respect their basic rights”.
In a press release posted on its platform after Durov’s arrest, Telegram mentioned it abides by EU legal guidelines, and its moderation is “inside trade requirements and continually bettering”.
“It’s absurd to assert {that a} platform or its proprietor are liable for abuse of that platform,” Telegram’s submit mentioned.
“Nearly a billion customers globally use Telegram as technique of communication and as a supply of significant data. We’re awaiting a immediate decision of this case. Telegram is with you all.”
Along with Russia and France, Durov can also be a citizen of the United Arab Emirates and the Caribbean island nation of St Kitts and Nevis.
The UAE Overseas Ministry mentioned on Tuesday that it was “carefully following the case” and had requested France to offer Durov “with all the mandatory consular companies in an pressing method”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov mentioned he hoped that Durov “has all the mandatory alternatives for his authorized protection” and added that Moscow stands “prepared to offer all essential help and assist” to the Telegram CEO as a Russian citizen.
“However the scenario is sophisticated by the truth that he’s additionally a citizen of France,” Peskov mentioned.
Telegram, which says it has practically 1 billion customers worldwide, was based by Durov and his brother after he himself confronted strain from Russian authorities.
In 2013, he offered his stake in VKontakte, a well-liked Russian social networking website which he launched in 2006.
The corporate got here below strain through the Russian authorities’s crackdown following mass pro-democracy protests that rocked Moscow on the finish of 2011 and 2012.
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Durov had mentioned authorities demanded that the positioning take down on-line communities of Russian opposition activists, and later that it hand over private information of customers who took half within the 2013-2014 well-liked rebellion in Ukraine, which finally ousted a pro-Kremlin president.
Durov mentioned in a latest interview that he had turned down these calls for and left the nation.
The demonstrations prompted Russian authorities to clamp down on the digital area, and Telegram and its pro-privacy rhetoric provided a handy means for Russians to speak and share information.
Telegram additionally continues to be a well-liked supply of reports in Ukraine, the place each media shops and officers use it to share data on the warfare, and ship missile and air raid alerts.
Western governments have typically criticised Telegram for an absence of content material moderation, which consultants say opens up the messaging app for potential use in cash laundering, drug trafficking and the sharing of fabric linked to the sexual exploitation of minors.
In 2022, Germany issued fines of €5.1 million ($8.4 million) in opposition to Telegram’s operators for failing to determine a lawful option to reporting unlawful content material or to call an entity in Germany to obtain official communication. Each are required below German legal guidelines that regulate massive on-line platforms.
