Telegram Founder Pavel Durov Arrested At Le Bourget Airport, Russia Urges His Rights To Be Respected

Support and sympathy from Parisians for Pavel Durov. (photo: x @runews)

JAKARTA - Pavel Durov, a Russian-born billionaire who is also the founder and owner of the Telegram messaging app, was arrested at Le Bourget airport outside Paris. He was arrested shortly after landing on a private jet on Saturday night, August 24 and was immediately detained, a local police source said.

The arrest of the 39-year-old tech entrepreneur sparked a warning from Moscow to Paris on Sunday, August 25 for its rights to be respected. Criticism also came from Elon Musk, the owner of platform X, who said that freedom of speech in Europe was under threat.

There has been no official confirmation from the French side regarding this arrest, although French and Russian media also reported that Durov was arrested shortly after arriving at Le Bourget airport on a private jet from Azerbaijan.

BFM and TF1, French media reported that Durov, who has French and United Arab Emirates dual citizenship, was arrested as part of an initial police investigation into alleged omission of potential criminality due to a lack of moderator on Telegram and lack of cooperation with the police.

Telegram and Telegram senior management did not respond even though they had been questioned repeatedly by the media. The French Interior Ministry, police, and the Paris prosecutor's office also made no comments. According to French media, Durov is likely to be indicted this Sunday.

Telegram, based in Dubai, was founded by Durov who left Russia in 2014 after he refused to comply with requests to close opposition communities on his social media platform, VK, which he later sold. This encrypted app, with nearly a billion users, is very influential in Russia, Ukraine, and former Soviet Union countries. Telegram is now one of the main social media platforms after Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, and WeChat.

Durov, who is estimated to have a fortune of US$15.5 billion (Rp238.7 trillion) according to Forbes, said in April that some governments were trying to suppress it, but the app should remain a "neutral platform" and not a "player in geopolitical".

After Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Telegram became the main source of uncontrolled information - and sometimes graphical and misleading - from both sides regarding the war and politics around it. The platform is also referred to by some analysts as a 'virtual war medium' for the war, widely used by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his officials, as well as the Russian government.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said it had sent a note to Paris demanding access to Durov, even though he had French citizenship. Former Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, said that Durov had misjudged by fleeing Russia and thought he would never have to cooperate with security services abroad.

Medvedev, who regularly uses Telegram to criticize and insult the West, said that Durov wanted to be a "glob man of 'world people' who lived beautifully without the country." However, Medvedev added, "He has miscalculated. For all our common enemies now, he is Russian - and therefore unpredictable and dangerous."

Russia began blocking Telegram in 2018 after the app refused to comply with court orders to grant state security services access to its users' encrypted messages. The move disrupted many third-party services, but had little impact on Telegram's availability there. Even so, the ban warrant sparked massive protests in Moscow and criticism from NGOs.

Durov, based in Dubai, recently traveled from Azerbaijan and was arrested at around 8 p.m. (1800 GMT), according to French and Russian media.

Telegram stated it was "committed to protect the privacy of users and human rights such as freedom of speech and assembly." Durov previously accused US law enforcement agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of seeking secret access to the platform. However, the FBI did not comment on the allegations.

Telegram's increasing popularity has sparked scrutiny from several countries in Europe, including France, over issues of security and data breach.

Elon Musk, owner of platform X, stated after Durov's detention report: "It's already 2030 in Europe and you will be executed for liking memes." Outside the French embassy in Moscow, a single protester raised a sign that reads: "Liberté pour Pavel Durov".