Free speech and ‘homeland’: Moscow's ‘opportunistic’ response to Telegram boss Durov’s arrest

Sébastian SEIBT

27 August 2024 at 1:06 pm·1-min read

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday said relations with France are at their “lowest” level following the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov at an airport outside Paris on Saturday. The arrest has prompted a stream of condemnations from those in power in Russia – even though the Kremlin itself tried to ban Telegram in 2018.

French judicial authorities late Monday extended the detention of Durov, who co-founded the popular messaging app, for up to 48 hours. The Paris prosecutor’s office on the same day stated that Durov had been arrested as part of an ongoing probe into crimes related to child pornography, drug trafficking and fraudulent transactions on the platform.

In Russia, an unlikely mix of voices have been speaking up in support of Durov. Some in the political opposition and some from circles close to President Vladimir Putin are condemning the arrest of the tech mogul, who was born in Russia in 1984.

The Kremlin has had a similar response. Lavrov’s comment on Tuesday came after Kremlin spokesman Dmity Peskov said that France had levelled “very serious” charges against Durov “that require no less serious evidence”.

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