Russia strongman Vladimir Putin threw his muscle behind Telegram boss Pavel Durov following his arrest in France — despite the tech tycoon fleeing his native land a decade ago after tangling with the Kremlin over free speech.
Durov was cuffed over the weekend as part of an investigation into crimes related to images of child sex abuse, drug trafficking and fraudulent transactions on the platform, French prosecutors said on Monday.
On Tuesday, the Kremlin said that the accusations would be viewed as an attempt to restrict freedom of communication unless France backed them up with serious evidence.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call that Russia was ready to provide Durov with all necessary assistance given his Russian citizenship, but he said Durov’s French citizenship complicated the situation.
“The charges are very serious indeed,” said Peskov. “They require a no less serious basis of evidence. Otherwise they will be a direct attempt to limit freedom of communication.”
Putin’s support signaled an odd twist since Russia has previously tried, and failed, to block Telegram and fined the company several times for failing to delete what it deemed illegal content.
However, leaked documents circulating on Telegram and X show that Durov may have paid a whopping 50 visits to Russia since he first left in 2014.
Some social media users have speculated that Durov may have struck a deal with Putin during one of his alleged trips to Russia, allowing Russia’s leader access to private Telegram channels – though there has been no evidence of any collusion.
The app, launched by Durov in 2013, has become an indispensable communication tool for citizens and government officials during the Russia-Ukraine war.
It exists as one of the last news links between Russia and Ukraine – though it’s a double-edged sword, since Russians have the same access to the app as Ukrainians.
Ukrainians have used the messaging app to send out air raid warnings and disperse maps of local bomb shelters. Citizens have used the site to document war horrors firsthand.
Russian officials, meanwhile, have used Telegram to spread news – and allegedly flood the site with disinformation and fake fact-checking channels.
Pro-democracy groups around the world also widely use Telegram as an organizing tool.
But the app has come under fire for not moderating content from extremist groups like the Islamic State, white nationalists, as well as COVID-19 and QAnon conspiracy theorists.
Durov’s arrest comes amid tense relations between Russia and France as the war in Ukraine nears its third year.
In April, French President Emmanuel Macron said there was “a risk our Europe could die” if countries did not band together to defend Ukraine from Russia’s advances.
“The principal danger for European security is the war in Ukraine,” Macron said during a speech at the time.
On Monday, Macron denied that Durov’s arrest was politically motivated.
Durov’s detention was extended by 48 hours late on Monday, a spokesperson for the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Tuesday.
After that, prosecutors will either need to charge or release him. Should he face charges, his flight risk status is a factor judges have to include in their assessment of possible pretrial detention, according to French law.
Durov – who has a net worth of $15.5 billion, according to Forbes — also holds a UAE passport.
The UAE also spoke in support of the tech entrepreneur, saying on Tuesday it had submitted a request to French officials offering Durov diplomatic assistance “in an urgent manner” and was “closely following the case.”
X owner Elon Musk was among the first wave of people defending Durov, writing “#FreePavel” while sharing a clip of Durov praising X for heralding innovation and free speech.
Durov, a staunch free speech advocate, was placed on a Russian state blacklist in 2013 over his app VKontakte – the Russian version of Facebook founded he founded 2006.
The ban, which a state spokesperson called a “mistake,” was lifted hours later.
The overnight blacklisting came soon after the Federal Security Service, a successor to the Soviet-era KGB, ordered Durov to shut down activist-run VK groups used to organize protests over the 2011 parliamentary election that claimed a victory for Putin’s United Russia party.
Durov refused to close the groups, including a protest group led by the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
A month before the blacklisting, Durov was reportedly involved in a traffic accident that left a police officer slightly injured.
The tech CEO refused to testify as a witness and instead fled the country, sources who knew him said.
He lived in self-imposed exile for the next decade, first moving to the Caribbean islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis and later to Dubai.
