US tech mogul Elon Musk has called for the release of Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov, who was arrested on Saturday shortly after arriving at Paris-Le Bourget airport.
Authorities in France believe that the 39-year-old dual Russian-French national is complicit in a range of crimes allegedly committed on his platform, arguing that insufficient moderation allows for Telegram to be widely used to break the law.
Musk took to his own platform to post a video of Durov talking to American conservative journalist Tucker Carlson about freedom of speech online and claiming that he was happy about the fact that Elon Musk had purchased Twitter. The entrepreneur coupled the video with the hashtag ‘#FreePavel’.
He was swift to publicly condemn the reported arrest. “POV: It’s 2030 in Europe and you’re being executed for liking a meme,” he wrote in a comment to a news story.
Musk also wrote ‘Dangerous times’ in his reaction to a post listing different countries where “free speech is under attack” that mentions France’s reported arrest of Durov.
According to French media outlets, Durov arrived in France by private jet from Azerbaijan’s capital Baku. The tech entrepreneur was reportedly accompanied by a bodyguard and an assistant. Le Figaro, citing sources, reported that Durov was supposed to spend at least one evening in Paris, where he had planned to have dinner.
Durov holds citizenship in the United Arab Emirates, Saint Kitts and Nevis, France and in his native Russia. Moscow’s embassy in Paris has said it is looking into the situation, although it has not received an official request for assistance so far.