Telegram boss’s lawyer dismisses probe in opposition to Durov as absurd By Reuters
PARIS (Reuters) -A lawyer for Telegram boss Pavel Durov, who’s being investigated in France, stated it was “completely absurd” to recommend the pinnacle of a social community was chargeable for any legal acts dedicated on the platform, French media stated.
A French choose put Durov below formal investigation on Wednesday, saying he was suspected of complicity in operating a web-based platform that enables illicit transactions, photographs of kid intercourse abuse and drug trafficking. He’s additionally being investigated for alleged cash laundering and the refusal to cooperate with judicial authorities.
Durov, who spent 4 days in police custody following his arrest on Saturday at an airport close to Paris, was granted bail on situation he pays 5 million euros ($5.6 million) and doesn’t go away French territory.
Durov will even must report twice per week to police of the city the place he’ll be staying. He must be dwelling at sure particular hours, a judicial supply stated, with out saying the place he would dwell or what number of hours a day he would should be there.
His arrest has fuelled debate on the place freedom of speech ends and enforcement of the legislation begins, and to what extent tech corporations needs to be held chargeable for social media content material. Telegram is utilized by near a billion folks.
“It’s very absurd to suppose that the pinnacle of a social community could possibly be concerned in legal acts that don’t concern him, both immediately or not directly,” lawyer David-Olivier Kaminski, who’s representing Durov in France, stated in feedback to reporters carried by a number of native media retailers.
“Telegram absolutely abides with European guidelines on digital,” he was quoted as saying.
Being positioned below formal investigation in France doesn’t indicate guilt or essentially result in trial, however signifies judges contemplate there’s sufficient proof to proceed with the probe. Investigations can final years earlier than being despatched to trial or shelved.
Kaminski didn’t instantly reply to a Reuters request for remark.
In the meantime, the Kremlin stated the arrest of the Russian-born tech boss, which has additional strained relations between France and Russia, mustn’t flip into “political persecution.”
Durov has French, UAE and Russian citizenship.
The United Arab Emirates is in contact with French authorities and representatives of Emirati citizen Pavel Durov, a authorities official stated.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who is thought to be an avid person of Telegram, stated earlier this week that Durov’s arrest was “by no means a political choice” and that the probe had been determined by judicial authorities, not by the federal government.
Macron had lunch with Durov in 2018 as a part of a collection of conferences with tech entrepreneurs, a supply near the president stated, and Durov was granted French citizenship in 2021 below a uncommon process for high-profile people.
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