Telegram founder Pavel Durov slammed French authorities on Sunday over what he called a “strange arrest” and ongoing legal case that he says has damaged France’s reputation as a free country.
Durov was held by French police for four days in August 2024 after unidentified individuals allegedly used Telegram to coordinate criminal activities. He described his detention as “legally and logically absurd” and criticized authorities for bypassing proper national and EU procedures for requests to the platform, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
“So far, the only outcome of my arrest has been massive damage to France’s image as a free country,” Durov wrote on Telegram. He added that investigators have yet to present evidence of wrongdoing by him or the company.
Despite the case, Durov said Telegram complies with industry moderation standards and legally binding requests. “One year after this strange arrest, I still have to return to France every 14 days, with no appeal date in sight,” he noted.
French prosecutors opened the investigation in 2024, suspecting Durov of enabling illegal activities via Telegram, including complicity in running a network platform to facilitate illegal transactions. Telegram now counts over 900 million users worldwide.
