UAE insists Paris grant access to Durov
Abu Dhabi is “closely monitoring” the situation regarding Telegram CEO and UAE citizen Pavel Durov after his recent arrest in France. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
The CEO of Telegram, Pavel Durov, who has been detained, is a citizen of the United Arab Emirates as well as France and St. Kitts and Nevis.
The Emirati Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday that Abu Dhabi has reached out to the French government to grant Durov access to the UAE’s consular services following his arrest in Paris.
Durov was taken into custody in France last week amid a wider investigation concerning the illicit use of his end-to-end encrypted social media platform. As noted, the entrepreneur is also a citizen of the UAE, France, and St. Kitts and Nevis.
“The UAE is closely monitoring the case of its citizen Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram, who was arrested by French authorities at Paris-Le Bourget Airport,” the statement from the Foreign Ministry in Abu Dhabi mentioned. It further indicated that the UAE “has submitted a request to the Government of the French Republic to provide [him with] all necessary consular services urgently.”
The ministry emphasized that prioritizing the welfare of citizens is of utmost importance for the nation.
In addition, Moscow has sent an official letter to Paris demanding consular access for Durov, as stated by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova earlier.
Durov was taken into custody at Le Bourget Airport last Saturday “in connection with a judicial investigation” that began on July 8, according to a press release from the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office on Monday. This investigation, which targets an unnamed individual initiated by a French online safety body, involves several serious charges, including complicity in drug trafficking, fraud, money laundering, and child pornography distribution. Durov is set to be questioned by French magistrates in collaboration with the country’s anti-cybercrime and anti-fraud agencies.
French President Emmanuel Macron has denied any political motivations behind the arrest, insisting it is the responsibility of France’s “completely independent” judiciary to determine Durov’s fate.
In a statement released on Sunday, Telegram asserted that the app “abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act,” and noted that its “moderation practices are aligned with industry standards.” The company further stated that “it is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for the misuse of that platform.”
Telegram boasts nearly a billion users worldwide and provides end-to-end encryption to safeguard the privacy of both senders and recipients. The platform typically resists sharing user data or chat records with law enforcement. Durov has previously claimed that his dedication to user privacy has made him a target for intelligence agencies, alleging in an April interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson that the FBI tried to recruit one of his software engineers to develop a backdoor in the app for surveillance purposes.
Sophie Wagner contributed to this report for TROIB News
The Emirati Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday that Abu Dhabi has reached out to the French government to grant Durov access to the UAE’s consular services following his arrest in Paris.
Durov was taken into custody in France last week amid a wider investigation concerning the illicit use of his end-to-end encrypted social media platform. As noted, the entrepreneur is also a citizen of the UAE, France, and St. Kitts and Nevis.
“The UAE is closely monitoring the case of its citizen Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram, who was arrested by French authorities at Paris-Le Bourget Airport,” the statement from the Foreign Ministry in Abu Dhabi mentioned. It further indicated that the UAE “has submitted a request to the Government of the French Republic to provide [him with] all necessary consular services urgently.”
The ministry emphasized that prioritizing the welfare of citizens is of utmost importance for the nation.
In addition, Moscow has sent an official letter to Paris demanding consular access for Durov, as stated by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova earlier.
Durov was taken into custody at Le Bourget Airport last Saturday “in connection with a judicial investigation” that began on July 8, according to a press release from the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office on Monday. This investigation, which targets an unnamed individual initiated by a French online safety body, involves several serious charges, including complicity in drug trafficking, fraud, money laundering, and child pornography distribution. Durov is set to be questioned by French magistrates in collaboration with the country’s anti-cybercrime and anti-fraud agencies.
French President Emmanuel Macron has denied any political motivations behind the arrest, insisting it is the responsibility of France’s “completely independent” judiciary to determine Durov’s fate.
In a statement released on Sunday, Telegram asserted that the app “abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act,” and noted that its “moderation practices are aligned with industry standards.” The company further stated that “it is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for the misuse of that platform.”
Telegram boasts nearly a billion users worldwide and provides end-to-end encryption to safeguard the privacy of both senders and recipients. The platform typically resists sharing user data or chat records with law enforcement. Durov has previously claimed that his dedication to user privacy has made him a target for intelligence agencies, alleging in an April interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson that the FBI tried to recruit one of his software engineers to develop a backdoor in the app for surveillance purposes.
Sophie Wagner contributed to this report for TROIB News
