Pavel Durov arrest row: Russia warns France not to turn charges against Telegram CEO into ’political persecution’

Amid the controversy over Telegram CEO Pavel Durov being charged with violations related to the messaging app, Russia on 29 August warned France not to turn a criminal case into 'political persecution', reported AFP.

Russia has painted Durov's surprise arrest in Paris earlier this week as politically motivated.

"The main thing is for what is happening in France not to run into political persecution," AFP quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"Of course we consider him a Russian citizen and as much as possible we will be ready to provide assistance. We will be watching what happens next," he added.

Pavel Durov walked free after four days of questioning from France but was barred from leaving the country. He was granted conditional release against a bail of five million euros and on the condition he must report to a police station twice a week.

Cases against Dhrov:

Russian-born Durov – who also has French citizenship – was charged by France for violations related to the messaging app, including allowing child pornography and drug trafficking.

He was arrested by the police in France on 24 August at Le Bourget airport outside Paris and was also accused of refusing to cooperate with authorities in sharing information, money laundering and providing cryptographic services to criminals.

The police also filed preliminary charges in connection with the probe against Durov.

Among the charges include “complicity in managing an online platform to allow illicit transactions by an organised group”. The second includes suspicion of “serious acts of violence” towards one of his children while he and an ex-partner, the boy's mother, were in Paris, reported AP. His ex-partner had previously filed another complaint against Durov in Switzerland in 2023.

Telegram's reaction:

“Telegram's CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe.. It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform,” the messaging app said in a post on X.

With agency inputs.