The detention of Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov jeopardizes the basic human rights of speech and association, the former CIA and National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden has said. The whistleblower added that he’s “deeply saddened” at the move by French President Emmanuel Macron.
The Russian tech entrepreneur, who also holds the citizenship of France, the UAE, and Saint Kitts and Nevis, was apprehended shortly after landing at Paris-Le Bourget Airport on Saturday and is set to appear before a judge on Sunday evening, according to media reports. French authorities had reportedly issued an arrest warrant for Durov over insufficient moderation on his online platform, which allegedly has allowed it to be widely used by criminals.
NSA whistleblower Snowden also used social media to respond, stating that “the arrest of Durov is an assault on the basic human rights of speech and association.”
“I am surprised and deeply saddened that Macron has descended to the level of taking hostages as a means for gaining access to private communications,” he said, emphasizing that the move “lowers not only France, but the world.”
Snowden fled the US in 2013 after he leaked a cache of files revealing systematic mass illegal spying on US citizens by the NSA. He became stranded while in transit in Moscow after Washington canceled his passport. Russia ended up granting him asylum and, reportedly, eventually citizenship.
In July, Pavel Durov announced that Telegram’s number of active monthly users had reached 950 million.