The Russian founder of the messaging app Telegram, Pavel Durov, has been detained after he arrived in Paris on a private jet, French broadcaster LCI has reported. He was arrested at Paris-Le Bourget Airport around 8 p.m. CET last night. In addition to being a citizen of both Russia and the U.A.E., Durov carries a French passport. French authorities issued an arrest warrant for the tech entrepreneur, apparently based upon the belief that, RT described, Telegram’s insufficient moderation, its encryption tools and alleged lack of cooperation with police could make Durov complicit in drug trafficking, pedophilia offenses and fraud.
Tucker Carlson posted on X yesterday: “Pavel Durov left Russia [in 2014] when the government tried to control his social media company, Telegram. But in the end, it wasn’t Putin who arrested him for allowing the public to exercise free speech. It was a Western country, a Biden administration ally and enthusiastic NATO member, that locked him away.” His arrest is “a living warning to any platform owner who refuses to censor the truth at the behest of governments and intel agencies. Darkness is descending fast on the formerly free world.”
