Telegram’s Pavel Durov arrested outside Paris, social media calls for his release: ‘Time we fight back’

The Russian-French billionaire founder and Telegram CEO, Pavel Durov, was arrested at Bourget airport outside Paris on Saturday evening, as per sources. The arrest happened after his private jet landed near the French capital. He had been targeted by an arrest warrant in France as part of a preliminary police investigation.

According to Reuters, the main focus of the investigation was Telegram’s lack of moderators, and police believed this circumstance allowed illicit activity to continue on the app.

Soon after Durov’s arrest, many people took to social media to voice their opinion against the arrest. A few even demanded his release.

With nearly one billion users, the encrypted messaging app Telegram holds significant sway in Russia, Ukraine, and the former Soviet Union’s member states. It comes in second place among the main social media networks, behind Wechat, Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, and TikTok, reported Reuters.

The news outlet also informed that Telegram has emerged as the primary platform for uncensored, often explicit, and inaccurate communication from both sides regarding the war and the politics following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The messaging app, which is heavily utilised by both the Russian government and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his officials, has evolved into what some experts refer to as “a virtual battlefield” for the conflict.

After the Kremlin tightened restrictions on alternative media following its invasion of Ukraine, Telegram—which enables users to avoid official scrutiny—has emerged as one of the only locations where Russians may obtain independent news about the war.

The Russian foreign ministry urged Western non-governmental organisations to seek Durov’s release and stated that its mission in Paris was providing clarification on the situation surrounding him.