Janice R. Andrews
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is very worried about Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of the messaging app Telegram, and is actively trying to get him diplomatic access after he was arrested in France. Durov was arrested by French police when he arrived at an airport outside of Paris. He is an Emirati resident. The arrest was carried out based on a valid French order. According to news from Al Jazeera, Durov’s detention has since been extended.
The tech entrepreneur Durov, who was born in Russia, was arrested by France’s anti-fraud office, which works with French customs. CNN affiliate BFMTV reported that Durov was arrested at Le Bourget Airport on Saturday evening, not long after his flight from Azerbaijan arrived.
UAE Asks for Quick Consular Access
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the UAE said in a statement on Tuesday that it is “closely following” Durov’s case. The ministry has officially asked the French government to provide Durov with instant consular services. This shows how concerned the UAE is about the well-being of its people. “A top priority for the UAE is caring for its citizens, protecting their interests, keeping up with their business, and giving them all kinds of care,” the statement said.
What the law says about Durov’s arrest
Durov, who is 39 years old, was arrested because of a warrant out for his arrest in France for allegedly doing illegal things on the Telegram app. The order says that Durov is involved in drug dealing, crimes against children, and fraud because Telegram material is not moderated enough. People have said that the site is used for illegal things like laundering money, trafficking drugs, and sharing damaging content, like material that exploits children. The French government says that Durov did not help the police with these issues.
Macron Stands Up for the Law
After Durov was arrested, French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement that France would continue to support free speech and the rule of law. Through a post on social media, Macron made it clear that Durov’s arrest was part of an ongoing legal probe and had nothing to do with politics. “Freedom of speech and communication, new ideas, and the spirit of entrepreneurship are very important to France.” It will stay that way. According to Macron, freedoms are protected by the law in a state based on the rule of law, both online and off. This is to keep people safe and protect their basic rights.
In his speech, Macron stressed that the judiciary’s job is to police the law and deal with any criminal accusations on its own. “The president of Telegram was arrested in France as part of an ongoing criminal investigation.” It has nothing to do with politics. “The judges will decide what to do,” Macron said.
Durov’s background in business and law
Telegram was started by Pavel Durov in 2013. He also made VKontakte, which is Russia’s biggest social networking site. He left Russia in 2014 because he wouldn’t give Russian security services information about his users. This caused the Russian government to try and ban Telegram but fail. It was in 2021 that Durov became a legal French citizen. He now lives in Dubai, where more than 900 million people use Telegram.
People all over the world are interested in the case because Durov is from two different countries. The case also has bigger effects for digital privacy, platform regulation, and how tech giants should handle content on their platforms. The situation is still changing, and the French and UAE governments are in the middle of political and legal talks about Durov’s arrest and the charges against him.
