ITEM 1 / 2 Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov delivers a keynote speech at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, February 23, 2016. REUTERS/Albert Gea/File Photo
PARIS, Aug 27 (Reuters) – Relations between Russia and Paris have hit a new low following the arrest of Russian-born Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday, with the tech billionaire’s detention extended until Wednesday.
It was unclear whether he was aware of the threat of arrest in France. Durov’s French lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lavrov said on Tuesday that Durov’s arrest had pushed ties between Moscow and Paris to their lowest level, ending months of deterioration in ties between the two countries.
French authorities have accused Russia of trying to destabilise France ahead of the Paris Olympics in response to its hardline stance on the war in Ukraine, an accusation Russia denies.
A spokesman for the Paris prosecutor’s office said Tuesday that Durov’s detention was extended by 48 hours late Monday, after which prosecutors must either charge him or release him. Under French law, if he is charged, the risk of flight is a factor judges must consider when deciding whether to hold him in pretrial detention.
“The charges are very serious,” Peskov said, “and we need no less serious evidence, otherwise it will be an attempt to directly restrict freedom of communication.”
Freedom of speech debate
Durov’s arrest has sparked debate about the limits of free speech online, with X owner Elon Musk saying freedom of expression in Europe is under attack, and highlights moves by governments around the world to take a tougher stance in cracking down on illegal activity that is rampant on some platforms.
Brazil’s Supreme Court temporarily suspended Telegram nationwide in 2022 for failing to comply with judicial orders.
With nearly 1 billion users, Telegram is particularly influential in Russia, Ukraine and former Soviet republics, where it positions itself as a haven for free speech but is also widely used by far-right, anti-vaccination and conspiracy movements, as well as dissidents.
The platform has become essential for battlefield communications in the Ukraine war, being used by governments and soldiers on both sides of the conflict to share war-related news and propaganda.
Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the Russian parliament, said, without providing evidence, that the United States was trying to take control of Telegram through France.
“Telegram is one of the few largest internet platforms over which the US does not have influence,” Borodin said in the post.
“On the eve of the US presidential election, it is important for President (Joe) Biden to control Telegram.”
The White House has not yet commented on Durov’s arrest.
French President Emmanuel Macron, a known avid user of the app, said the arrests were “in no way a political decision.”
Russia has tried unsuccessfully before to block Telegram and has fined the company several times for failing to remove content it deemed illegal.
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Reporting by Lydia Kelly in Melbourne and Tassilo Hummel in Paris; Editing by Barbara Lewis and Gabriel Stargaard
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