Despite French President Emmanuel Macron's assertions to the contrary. Pavel Durov's arrest in Paris could turn into a “political case”.Or “a direct attempt to limit freedom of communication” and “intimidation” towards him.
After two days of thinking The Kremlin is taking a tough stance on the issue of the Russian-French founder and head of TelegramWhile Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says the aim of the operation, which was carried out “at the suggestion of others,” is to “Get access codes” To the chats of the messaging service. Vyacheslav Volodin, the chairman of the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, also has an explanation for who inspired the investigation. “Washington is behind Durov’s arrest,” he said. “On the eve of the US presidential election, It is important for Biden to take control of Telegram.“
But in Moscow it is spreading Suspected to be a ploy by Western intelligence services to gain access to sensitive informationGiven the widespread use of Telegram in Russia, for example, Nezavisimaia Gazeta wrote that Durov “could make peace with investigators to avoid prison” by providing access keys. “Obviously, no one has confirmed this information,” the newspaper added. “But it is believed that if the situation is resolved in Durov’s favor, the Russian authorities will become suspicious,” and the messaging service “may be limited.”
But the head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergei Naryshkin, said he did not expect Telegram’s founder and CEO to agree to provide sensitive information. For the avoidance of doubt, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed that President Vladimir Putin’s administration does not use messaging services “for official purposes,” and no government official should do so, because “none of them can be relied upon in terms of cybersecurity, including Telegram.”
Lavrov said that Moscow is awaiting a response from Paris to its request to contact Durov to provide consular assistance.He added that the same request was filed by a “group of lawyers” from the United Arab Emirates, where Telegram is based. The foreign minister attacked France for “the position that Paris takes on issues of freedom of expression.”
He added that Russia “made no attempt to limit the freedom of Pavel Durov or his team” even when he had disagreements with the authorities. Durov left Russia in 2014 by selling his stake in the social network VKontakte after refusing to provide the judiciary with data on some opposition figures’ accounts. The same happened with the Telegram app, which he later founded, leading to the messaging service being blocked in Russia from 2018 to 2020.
In an interview this year with American journalist Tucker Carlson, Durov said he does not visit “major geopolitical powers or other countries” such as Russia, China and the United States. But the Russian opposition investigative website Vazny Istory (Important Stories) wrote that consultations with the border service archive revealed that he returned to Russia about fifty times, from 2015 to 2017 and then from 2020 to 2021.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei also commented on Durov's arrest. The French have taken this poor young man.“They arrest you, put you in prison, and threaten to sentence you to 20 years in prison, and this happens because you violated their rules,” Khamenei said during a meeting devoted to controlling cyberspace.
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