Founder #Telegram Pavel Durov stated that investigators in the criminal case against him in France still cannot find evidence of his guilt a year after his arrest. On Sunday, he published a post in his messenger criticizing the French authorities for the 'unprecedented' arrest in August 2024.
Durov emphasized that holding a technology company leader accountable for the actions of independent users is 'legally and logically absurd.' He added, 'A year later, the 'criminal investigation' against me still cannot find anything for which I or Telegram would be guilty. Our moderation practices comply with industry standards, and Telegram has always responded to all legally binding requests from France.'
The founder of the messenger noted that a year after the 'strange arrest,' he still has to return to France every 14 days, with the date of the appeal not yet set. Durov warned that the French government has inflicted irreparable damage to France's image as a free country.
Accusations of censorship and political motivation
The arrest of Durov in August 2024 sparked widespread condemnation from the crypto community, human rights groups, and free speech activists. They accused the French government of attempting to coerce the platform into censorship by arresting the founder of Telegram.
French law enforcement has filed charges in connection with the investigation into the content moderation policies on the Telegram platform, accusing the messenger of hosting harmful content. French President Emmanuel Macron denied the political motivation behind the arrest, which provoked a torrent of censorship accusations from the crypto community.
'In a state governed by the rule of law, freedoms are upheld within the legal system both in social media and in real life, to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights,' Macron wrote on social network X on August 26 of last year.
CEO of the node provider Helius Mert Mumtaz responded to Macron with the question: 'Why are you personally not in prison for failing to control 100% of all crimes in France?'
Principled stance on privacy
Durov has repeatedly stated that Telegram complies with all legitimate law enforcement requests and claims that the company will leave the jurisdiction but will not succumb to censorship pressure. The founder of the messenger emphasized that the Telegram platform will not compromise user privacy by handing over encryption keys or creating backdoors in the messaging app.
