A French court has extended the police custody for the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the popular messaging app Telegram, Pavel Durov.

The prosecutors made this known on Tuesday, August 27, 2024.

Durov was arrested at Le Bourget airport in France on Saturday, August 24, as part of a judicial inquiry opened last month involving 12 alleged criminal violations.

The violations include complicity in selling child sexual abuse material and in drug trafficking, fraud, abetting organised crime transactions, and refusing to share information or documents with investigators when required by law.

A statement from the Paris prosecutor’s office on Tuesday said Durov’s police custody order was extended on Monday evening for up to 48 hours. After that, authorities must release or charge him, the prosecutor’s office said in an earlier statement.

Durov is a citizen of Russia, France, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the Caribbean Island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis.

Russian government officials have expressed outrage at his detention, with some calling it politically motivated and proof of the West’s double standard on freedom of speech.

The outcry has raised eyebrows among Kremlin critics because, in 2018, Russian authorities themselves tried to block Telegram but failed, withdrawing the ban in 2020.

French President Emmanuel Macron, on Monday, said Durov’s arrest wasn’t a political move but part of an independent investigation.

‘Durov has nothing to hide’: Telegram speaks on CEO’s arrest

Macron posted on X that his country “is deeply committed” to freedom of expression but “freedoms are upheld within a legal framework, both on social media and in real life, to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights.”

The UAE Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that it was “closely following the case” and had asked France to provide Durov “with all the necessary consular services in an urgent manner.”

The Russian Embassy in Paris said consular officials were denied access to Durov because French authorities view his French citizenship as his primary one.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also weighed in on Durov’s arrest.

“You saw that France arrested this poor young fellow, yes, they are that strict,” AFP quoted Khamenei as saying in a meeting with members of new reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian’s Cabinet.

Khamenei added: “That’s because he has violated their governance over the internet.

“Violating the governance is not acceptable. You rule a country, you have a responsibility. You can’t let anyone violate your governance.”

The Star