French President Emmanuel Macron has denied any political motive for Saturday’s arrest of Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov in Paris.
Writing on X on Monday, Macron insisted that Durov’s arrest “is in no way a political decision” and took place as part of “an ongoing judicial investigation” in which the judges will ultimately decide the entrepreneur’s fate.
“France is more than anything attached to freedom of expression and communication, to innovation and to the spirit of enterprise,” Macron wrote, adding that “in a state governed by the rule of law, on social networks as in real life, freedoms are exercised within a framework established by law to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights.”
“It is up to the justice system, in complete independence, to ensure that the law is respected,” the president said.
The 39-year old Russian, who also holds citizenship in France, the UAE and Saint Kitts and Nevis, was detained by French authorities after his private jet landed in Paris on August 24 after flying from Azerbaijan.
The exact charges the tech entrepreneur could face are still unclear, but media reports suggest that his arrest warrant was issued by France’s OFMIN – an agency tasked with combating violence against minors – in order to conduct a probe into alleged fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organized crime and promotion of terrorism.
According to the French media, Durov’s detention is likely related to alleged complaints against Telegram, particularly his refusal to moderate content on the platform and preventing it from being used by criminals.
Telegram, for its part, has insisted that the company is in full compliance with EU laws and content-moderation policies and called it “absurd” to claim that Durov was responsible for the misuse of the platform by bad actors.