France hands Telegram CEO Pavel Durov preliminary charges over alleged criminal activity on the app
Paris — French authorities handed preliminary charges to Telegram CEO Pavel Durov on Wednesday for permitting alleged criminal activity on his messaging app and barred him from leaving France pending additional investigation. Free-speech advocates and authoritarian governments have spoken in Durov’s protection since his weekend arrest, with the chief Kremlin spokesman in Moscow warning Thursday that the case should “not to run into political persecution.”
“We consider him a Russian citizen and as much as possible we will be ready to provide assistance,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov instructed reporters, including that the Russian authorities could be “watching what happens next” in the case of the know-how entrepreneur. Durov was born in Russia however left the nation a couple of decade in the past and now holds citizenship there, in addition to in France, the United Arab Emirates and the small Caribbean nation of St. Kitts and Nevis.
The case has referred to as consideration to the challenges of policing unlawful activity on-line, and to Durov’s personal uncommon biography and a number of passports.
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Durov was detained Saturday at Le Bourget airport exterior Paris as a part of a sweeping investigation opened earlier this yr. He was launched earlier Wednesday after 4 days of questioning. Investigative judges filed preliminary charges Wednesday evening and ordered him to pay 5 million euros (about $5.5 million) in bail and to report back to a police station twice every week, in line with a press release from the Paris prosecutor’s workplace.
The Reuters information company quoted an unnamed authorities official in the UAE as saying that nation was “in touch with the French authorities about this case,” together with Durov’s representatives, including that the welfare of UAE residents was a precedence and the authorities would offer help if required.
The allegations towards Telegram and Pavel Durov
The French prosecutors’ allegations towards Durov embrace that his platform is getting used for criminal functions, together with the propagation of kid sexual abuse materials and drug trafficking, and that Telegram refused to share data or paperwork with investigators when required by regulation.
CBS Information senior overseas correspondent Holly Williams stated it was necessary to notice that French authorities haven’t claimed that Durov is or was personally concerned in the alleged crimes. They argue as a substitute that his firm, which allows customers to speak by means of encrypted messages, making it tough for authorities to observe or assessment these communications, has not cooperated in different criminal investigations.
The primary preliminary cost towards him was for “complicity in managing an online platform to allow illicit transactions by an organized group,” a crime that can carry a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of 500,000 euros, the prosecutor’s office said.
Preliminary charges under French law mean magistrates have strong reason to believe a crime was committed but want to allow more time for further investigation.
David-Olivier Kaminski, a lawyer for Durov, was quoted by French media as saying “it’s very absurd to assume that the particular person answerable for a social community may very well be implicated in criminal acts that do not concern him, immediately or not directly.”
Prosecutors stated Durov was, “at this stage, the only person implicated in this case.” They didn’t exclude the risk that different folks have been being investigated, however declined to remark on different doable arrest warrants. Some other arrest warrant could be revealed provided that the goal of such a warrant is detained and knowledgeable of their rights, prosecutors stated in a press release to the AP.
French authorities opened a preliminary investigation in February in response to “the near total absence of a response by Telegram to judicial requests″ for data for pursuing suspects, notably those accused of crimes against children, the prosecutor’s office said.
Russia “prepared” to help Durov amid its own crackdown on free speech
Durov’s arrest in France has caused outrage in Russia, with some government officials calling it politically motivated and proof of the West’s double standard on freedom of speech. The outcry has raised eyebrows among Kremlin critics as, in 2018, Russian authorities themselves tried to block the Telegram app but failed, withdrawing the ban in 2020.
The Russian government has also implemented a wide range of new laws since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 making it illegal to iterate or publish virtually any criticism of the Kremlin’s military or the war, which it refers to as a special military operation.
Hundreds of journalists and democracy advocates have fled Russia in recent years, and many others remain imprisoned on charges stemming from the draconian laws curbing free speech in the country. Russia has also detained a number of foreign journalists who have reported on the war, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was convicted on espionage charges earlier than being freed in a jail swap at the starting of August. The Journal and the U.S. authorities all the time dismissed the charges as baseless.
Kremlin spokesman Peskov stated he hoped Durov “has all the necessary opportunities for his legal defense,” including that Moscow stood “ready to provide all necessary assistance and support” to the Telegram CEO however acknowledging the “situation is complicated by the fact that he is also a citizen of France.”
In Iran, the place Telegram is extensively used regardless of being formally banned after years of protests difficult the nation’s Shiite theocracy, Durov’s arrest drew feedback from the Islamic Republic’s supreme chief. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued veiled reward for France for being “strict” towards those that “violate your governance” of the web.
French President Emmanuel Macron insisted Monday that Durov’s arrest wasn’t a political transfer however a part of an impartial regulation enforcement investigation. Macron stated in put up on X that his nation “is deeply committed” to freedom of expression, however that “freedoms are upheld within a legal framework, both on social media and in real life, to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights.”
The historical past of Telegram and Pavel Durov in Russia
In a press release posted on its platform after Durov’s arrest, Telegram stated it abides by EU legal guidelines, and its moderation is “within industry standards and constantly improving.”
“Nearly a billion customers globally use Telegram as technique of communication and as a supply of important data. We’re awaiting a immediate decision of this example,” it stated.
Telegram was based by Durov and his brother after he himself confronted stress from Russian authorities. In 2013, he offered his stake in VKontakte, a well-liked Russian social networking website which he had launched in 2006.
The corporate got here below stress throughout the Russian authorities’s crackdown following mass pro-democracy protests that rocked Moscow at the finish of 2011 and 2012.
Durov had stated authorities demanded the website take down on-line communities of Russian opposition activists, and later that it hand over private information of customers who took half in the 2013-2014 well-liked rebellion in Ukraine, which ultimately ousted a pro-Kremlin president.
Durov stated 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 house, and Telegram and its pro-privacy stance had provided a handy approach 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 conflict and to ship missile and air raid alerts.
Western governments have usually criticized Telegram for a scarcity of content material moderation.
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