Pavel Durov Telegram CEO’s arrest in Russia

Pavel Durov, the millionaire who was born in Russia and created the messaging program Telegram, was detained on arrival in Paris on Saturday night, and since then, there has been more talk than action regarding his whereabouts.

“The arrest (or detention) of ‘Russia’s Zuckerberg, Pavel Durov, is one of the most important, but mysterious global news stories,” Nezavisimaya Gazeta said in its headline.

Telegram CEO’s arrest

Indeed.

“Mysterious” is a bit of an understatement, though.

1. Why was he being held by French police?
2. What allegations does he have?
3. Is there any connection to his recent trip to Azerbaijan, during which he either met or did not see Russian President Vladimir Putin?

For two days, reporters have quoted “sources close to the investigation” about the offences Pavel Durov may be charged with (allegedly, from complicity in drug-trafficking to fraud). Telegram put out a statement saying Mr Durov had “nothing to hide”.

On Monday evening, the Paris prosecutor said in a statement that Mr Durov was being held in custody as part of a cyber-criminality investigation.

The statement listed twelve various offences that were allegedly connected to organised crime and were currently under investigation.

The prosecutor listed these as illegal transactions, child pornography, fraud, and the unwillingness to provide information to law enforcement.

 

The statement also said that Mr. Durov’s detention period had been increased and was now set to finish on Wednesday.

President Emmanuel Macron said on social media that he had read “false information” about France after Mr. Durov was arrested, without providing any specifics. He also said, “This is in no way a political decision.” The judges will make the final decision.”

The Kremlin in Moscow is taking  discretion.

In his initial remarks regarding Pavel Durov’s jail time, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday, “We still don’t know what exactly Durov has been accused of.”

“There haven’t been any formal remarks made. We need more clarity before I can address this in any way.

It is not universally felt that clarity is necessary in Russia.

 

 

 

 

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In 2000, we reported on the sinking of the Kursk submarine in the icy waters of the Barents Sea. One hundred and eighteen submariners died in that report.
Vladimir Putin has been president for less than half a year. We can still remember the Russian TV channels condemning him for his handling of the disaster.

This week marks 24 years since the sinking of the K-141 Kursk. This time the Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops launched their surprise offensive and where they have been occupying the area for nine days now.

 

 

 

 

The main political chat program on state TV had a lot to say about the subject on Monday.

One political analyst in the studio said, “All the charges against Durov sound absurd.” It would be equivalent to charging [France’s] President Macron of all crimes carried out in France to hold him accountable for every crime committed on his platform.

Russian media also covered the story extensively. Numerous newspapers voiced fear that Russia would suffer grave consequences as an outcome of Pavel Durov’s arrest.

Nezavisimaya Gazeta stated, “This blow to Telegram threatens to be a blow to Russia.” “The encryption keys for the messenger could be obtained by Western intelligence services with Pavel Durov’s arrest.”

“If Pavel Durov is forced to obey the French intelligence services, Telegram might become a tool of NATO,” said Moskovsky Komsomolets, who also noted that “Telegram chats contain a huge amount of strategically important, vitally important information.”

The Russian government started preventing users from using Telegram in April 2018 and lifted the restriction in 2020. The Russian military, including soldiers engaged in the so-called “Special Military Operation” (Russia’s war in Ukraine), uses the messenger in addition to Russian authorities nowadays.

Moskovsky Komsomolets raised the question, “How is [our army] going to fight if Telegram crashes?” today.

Free speech has been the subject of discussion in the West due to Pavel Durov’s detention.

The underlying purpose behind Pavel Durov’s detention, according to Tatyana Moskalkova, the presidential human rights ombudsman in Russia, was to shut down Telegram, a platform that allows users to learn the truth about what’s going on in the globe. Everyone who values freedom of speech objects to this.

Ms. Moskalkova said nothing about YouTube, whose access is currently heavily restricted in Russia, or the messaging app Signal, to which the Russian government shut access earlier this month. Here, Facebook and Instagram are already prohibited.

And what about the reports that Putin and Durov met earlier in August in Baku? Was one present?

When I asked, Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, said, “No.”

Moscow will use this enigmatic tale, as it turns out, to support its official line that Russians should be wary of the West.

According to the well-known newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, “good Russians” are extinct in the eyes of the West.