The Russian embassy in Paris on Sunday accused French authorities of “refusing to cooperate” after the arrest of Telegram messaging platform proprietor Pavel Durov.
Durov, who has Russian and different nationalities, was detained at Paris Le Bourget airport on Saturday and was anticipated to seem in courtroom on Sunday on offences associated to Telegram.
“We immediately asked French authorities to explain the reasons for this detention and demanded that his rights be protected and that consular access be granted. Up to now, the French side is refusing to cooperate on this question,” the embassy stated in a press release reported by Ria Novosti news company.
Durov is accused of failing to take motion to curb prison use on his platform.
Russian officers have rushed to his defence.
Russian international ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated Moscow had requested for consular entry to 39-year-old Durov, saying that as he additionally had French citizenship “France considers that it is his main nationality”.
She stated that when Russia blocked Telegram in 2018, the transfer was denounced by rights teams and requested: “What do you think, will they call on Paris and demand his release, or will they bite their tongues this time?”
Other Russian officers accused France of censorship.
Rights ombudsman Tatiana Moskalkova stated that “it is obvious that the real reason of Pavel Durov’s arrest is an attempt to close Telegram as an internet resource where you can find out the truth about world events.”
Former president Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s primary hawk throughout the Ukraine offensive, stated he had as soon as “a long time ago” requested Durov why he didn’t wish to work with Russian state authorities and advised him that he would have “serious problems”.
He stated that Durov had “made a mistake” by going overseas and that he ought to “finally realise that the fatherland, like an era, cannot be chosen.”
Telegram is extensively utilized in Russia and is fashionable amongst state officers.
Margarita Simonyan, an influential character on state TV, known as on folks to delete their Telegram chats.
“Everyone who is used to using Telegram for sensitive conversations/chats, should right now delete those chats and not do so again,” she stated on social media.
She stated Durov was “arrested to take away (Telegram’s) keys. And he will give them.”
Source: www.anews.com.tr