UAE Urges Paris to Offer Consular Assistance to Durov
Abu Dhabi is “closely monitoring” the situation regarding Telegram CEO and UAE citizen Pavel Durov after his arrest in France. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
The detained Russian Telegram CEO also holds citizenship in the UAE, France, and St. Kitts and Nevis.
Abu Dhabi has reached out to the French government to request that Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov be allowed access to the UAE’s consular services following his arrest in Paris, as stated by the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday.
Authorities reported that Durov was arrested in France last week as part of a wider investigation into the misuse of his end-to-end encrypted social media app. The Russian entrepreneur claims citizenship in Russia, 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 UAE Foreign Ministry said. The ministry also noted that it “has submitted a request to the Government of the French Republic to provide him with all necessary consular services urgently.”
Ensuring the welfare of citizens remains a key priority for the UAE, according to the ministry.
Moscow has also conveyed an official letter to Paris requesting consular access for Durov, as stated by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
Durov was detained at France’s Le Bourget Airport last Saturday “in connection with a judicial investigation” that began on July 8, according to a statement from the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office released on Monday. The investigation, initiated against an unnamed individual by a French online safety agency, involves multiple charges such as complicity in drug trafficking, fraud, money laundering, and distribution of child pornography. Durov is set to be questioned by French magistrates in collaboration with France’s anti-cybercrime and anti-fraud offices, the press release noted.
French President Emmanuel Macron has denied any political motivation behind the arrest, asserting that it is the responsibility of France’s “completely independent” judiciary to determine the outcome for the entrepreneur.
In a statement on Sunday, Telegram clarified that the app “abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act,” and emphasized that its “moderation practices are aligned with industry standards.” The company further remarked that “it is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for the misuse of that platform.”
With nearly a billion users worldwide, Telegram is a widely-used messaging app that offers end-to-end encryption to protect users' privacy. The app is known for its general refusal to hand over user data or chat histories to law enforcement. Durov has previously claimed that this dedication to user privacy has made him a target for intelligence agencies, stating in an interview in April with American journalist Tucker Carlson that the FBI attempted to recruit one of his software engineers to create a backdoor in the app for surveillance purposes.
Sanya Singh contributed to this report for TROIB News
Abu Dhabi has reached out to the French government to request that Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov be allowed access to the UAE’s consular services following his arrest in Paris, as stated by the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday.
Authorities reported that Durov was arrested in France last week as part of a wider investigation into the misuse of his end-to-end encrypted social media app. The Russian entrepreneur claims citizenship in Russia, 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 UAE Foreign Ministry said. The ministry also noted that it “has submitted a request to the Government of the French Republic to provide him with all necessary consular services urgently.”
Ensuring the welfare of citizens remains a key priority for the UAE, according to the ministry.
Moscow has also conveyed an official letter to Paris requesting consular access for Durov, as stated by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
Durov was detained at France’s Le Bourget Airport last Saturday “in connection with a judicial investigation” that began on July 8, according to a statement from the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office released on Monday. The investigation, initiated against an unnamed individual by a French online safety agency, involves multiple charges such as complicity in drug trafficking, fraud, money laundering, and distribution of child pornography. Durov is set to be questioned by French magistrates in collaboration with France’s anti-cybercrime and anti-fraud offices, the press release noted.
French President Emmanuel Macron has denied any political motivation behind the arrest, asserting that it is the responsibility of France’s “completely independent” judiciary to determine the outcome for the entrepreneur.
In a statement on Sunday, Telegram clarified that the app “abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act,” and emphasized that its “moderation practices are aligned with industry standards.” The company further remarked that “it is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for the misuse of that platform.”
With nearly a billion users worldwide, Telegram is a widely-used messaging app that offers end-to-end encryption to protect users' privacy. The app is known for its general refusal to hand over user data or chat histories to law enforcement. Durov has previously claimed that this dedication to user privacy has made him a target for intelligence agencies, stating in an interview in April with American journalist Tucker Carlson that the FBI attempted to recruit one of his software engineers to create a backdoor in the app for surveillance purposes.
Sanya Singh contributed to this report for TROIB News
