Russia Calls Pavel Durov A Victim Of His Own Freedom

Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of Telegram who was arrested in France (photo: dock. telegram)

JAKARTA - Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of Telegram who was arrested in France, is considered "too free" in running his social media platform, which eventually led to his own destruction. This was said by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, on Monday, September 2.

A judge in France has placed Durov, who was born in Russia, under an official investigation last week on alleged involvement in running an online platform that allows illegal transactions, the spread of images of child sexual abuse, drug trafficking, and fraud.

Durov's lawyers called the allegations "absurd," given that Telegram, with nearly 1 billion users, is very popular in Russia, Ukraine, and other former Soviet countries.

In a speech to students at the University of MGIMO managed by Russia's foreign ministry Lavrov reflected the Kremlin's view that the investigation into Durov was part of Western political play to pressure Russia.

"Pavel Durov is too free," Lavrov said. "He didn't listen to Western advice in modernizing his work."

After years of pressure from Russia over its efforts in technology, Durov is now gaining full support from his country. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last week that there were no negotiations between the Kremlin and Durov, who also hold French and United Arab Emirates passports.

"The most important thing is that what happened in France has not turned into political persecution," Peskov said last Thursday.

French President Emmanuel Macron has denied any political motives in the detention of the tech entrepreneur. However, Lavrov warned that Durov's arrest, which was the first arrest of a major technology CEO, had brought the relationship between Moscow and Paris down to a new low.