'No way a political decision': Macron slams 'false information' on the arrest of Telegram CEO

euronews (in English)

French President Emmanuel Macron said that Pavel Durov's arrest occurred "as part of an ongoing judicial investigation". The Russian billionaire was arrested on Saturday night at a Paris airport.

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00:00Moscow has accused France of free speech double standards after the arrest of Pavel Durov,

00:05Russian billionaire and also the founder of the Telegram messaging platform.

00:10The arrest late on Saturday night prompted a stern warning from the Kremlin to the LSA palace

00:16that Durov should be accorded his full rights, further aggravating the already tense relationship

00:22between both countries. On Sunday night, French authorities decided to extend

00:27Durov's detention period for not curbing enough offenses allegedly on the Telegram platform,

00:35such as for example, fraud, drug trafficking, organized crime and even promotion of terrorism.

00:42Durov could be held up to 96 hours for questioning. After the end of this detention

00:47period, a judge can then decide whether to set him free or to press charges against him.

00:53French president Emmanuel Macron insisted on Monday afternoon that Durov's arrest was in no

00:58way a political move. Russia's embassy in Paris said that they had tried to get in touch with

01:05Durov but said that the French side was not cooperating with them and that's because

01:10Durov also holds a dual nationality with France. Sofia Katzenkova reporting from Paris for Euronews.

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