The French president earlier said there was no political motive behind the Telegram CEO’s detention at an airport outside Paris on Saturday
Elon Musk, the American technology mogul, has asked French President Emmanuel Macron to provide more information regarding the arrest of Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov. The Russian entrepreneur was apprehended last week upon arriving at Paris-Le Bourget Airport.
The French judicial authorities have extended Durov’s detention on two occasions. The Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office has stated that the arrest was part of a wider criminal investigation targeting an unnamed individual.
“It would be helpful to the global public to understand more details about why he was arrested,” Musk wrote in a comment on Macron’s post on X (formerly Twitter).
On Sunday, the French leader utilized X to deny any political motivations behind Durov’s detention. He insisted that the arrest is part of “an ongoing judicial investigation” in which the courts will determine the entrepreneur’s fate.
Durov has mentioned facing pressure from the US. In an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson in April, he alleged receiving “too much attention” from the FBI and other law enforcement agencies during his time in the US.
According to the prosecutors, Durov could face charges ranging from complicity in drug dealing and money laundering, to facilitating the distribution of child pornography.
French media reported that the arrest of the 39-year-old Russian citizen, who also holds French, UAE, and St. Kitts and Nevis citizenship, was related to alleged offenses linked to Telegram. Reports suggest that the authorities suspect Durov’s involvement in various crimes allegedly committed through the social media app due to inadequate moderation.
Born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) in 1984, Durov left Russia in the mid-2010s and has resided primarily in the UAE since then. He was granted French citizenship in 2021. In July, Durov wrote on his Telegram channel that the messaging platform’s active monthly user base had reached 950 million.
Durov’s arrest has been condemned as a violation of rights enjoyed in both the EU and the US. Carlson, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, former CIA and NSA contractor Edward Snowden, and Silicon Valley investor David Sacks have publicly voiced their support for the entrepreneur. Shortly after the arrest, Musk, who launched the hashtag #FreePavel, suggested that the pressure on freedom of speech could worsen.