Telegram’s Pavel Durov transferred to French court to face possible charges | Technology News
The investigating judge has released Dourov from police custody and will bring him before a court, the Paris prosecutor’s office said.
Russian-born Telegram boss Pavel Durov has been sent before a French investigating judge who is to decide whether he should face a formal investigation after his arrest as part of an investigation into organised crime on the messaging and social media app.
Durov’s arrest after he landed in Paris on a private jet on Saturday has shone a spotlight on the criminal liability of app providers and fueled debate over where to draw the line between freedom of expression and the beginning of law enforcement.
“An investigating judge has released Pavel Durov from police custody and will present him before a court for an initial appearance and possible indictment,” said a statement from the Paris prosecutor’s office on Wednesday.
In France, being indicted does not necessarily imply guilt or a trial, but indicates that judges consider the case strong enough to continue the investigation. Investigations can last for years before being referred to court or closed without further action.
The judge’s decision was expected at 8 p.m. (6 p.m. GMT), 96 hours after Durov was taken into custody, the maximum length of time he can be held before a decision is made.
If Durov, who is a French citizen, is indicted, judges will also decide whether he should be remanded in custody. They will take into account, among other things, the possibility that he may try to flee.
The overall investigation so far involves unspecified individuals. It focuses on suspected complicity in crimes including operating an online platform that enabled illicit transactions, possessing child sexual abuse images, drug trafficking, fraud, refusing to hand over information to authorities and providing crypto services to criminals, prosecutors said.
The prosecutor’s office did not specify what crime or crimes Durov himself might be suspected of.
Durov’s French lawyer did not respond to repeated requests for comment from Reuters news agency.
In a statement Monday, Telegram said it complies with European Union laws and that its moderation is “in line with industry standards and constantly improving.”
“Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and frequently travels to Europe,” he said. “It is absurd to claim that a platform, or its owner, is responsible for the abuses of this platform.”
In addition to Russia and France, Durov is also a citizen of the United Arab Emirates and the Caribbean island of Saint Kitts and Nevis.
The UAE foreign ministry said on Tuesday it was “closely following the case” and had asked France to provide Mr Durov with “all necessary consular services on an urgent basis”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he hoped Durov would “be given all necessary opportunities for his legal defense” and added that Moscow was “ready to provide all necessary assistance and support” to the Telegram CEO as a Russian citizen.
“But the situation is complicated by the fact that he is also a French citizen,” Peskov said.
Faced with accusations from Russia and X owner Elon Musk that France is stifling free speech with Durov’s arrest, President Emmanuel Macron took the unusual step Monday of posting what he called “fake news” on X.
Macron said Monday that Durov’s arrest was not a political decision but part of an independent investigation. Macron wrote that his country “is deeply committed” to freedom of expression but that “freedoms are respected within a legal framework, both on social media and in real life, to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights.”
