Telegram Founder Pavel Durov: One Year After Being Detained by French Police, Still Required to Return to France Every Two Weeks, Case Still Without Appeal Date

BlockBeats News, August 25th, Telegram founder Pavel Durov tweeted, saying, "A year ago, the French police detained me for 4 days simply because some people I had never heard of were using Telegram to coordinate crime. Arresting the CEO of a large platform for the actions of its users is not only unprecedented but also absurd in legal and logical terms. A year has passed, and the 'criminal investigation' against me continues to struggle to find any evidence of wrongdoing by either me or Telegram. Our content moderation practices comply with industry standards, and Telegram has always responded to all legally binding requests from France."

Ironically, the reason I was arrested is precisely due to the mistakes of the French police: until August 2024, they had never sent any formal query to Telegram through the prescribed legal channels, disregarding French and EU laws.

One year after this bizarre arrest, I still have to return to France every 14 days without a scheduled appeal date. So far, the only result of my arrest has been a serious stain on France's image as a free country. One thing is certain: we will continue to resist—and we will prevail."