Telegram Founder Pavel Durov: Still Required to Return to France Every Two Weeks a Year After Arrest by French Police, No Appeal Date Set for the Case

According to ChainCatcher, Pavel Durov tweeted, "A year ago, I was detained by French police for four days simply because some people I had never heard of used Telegram to coordinate criminal activities. Arresting the CEO of a major platform for the actions of its users is not only unprecedented, but also utterly absurd both legally and logically. A year has passed, and the 'criminal investigation' against me is still struggling to find any evidence of wrongdoing by myself or Telegram. Our content moderation practices are in line with industry standards, and Telegram has always responded to all legally binding requests from France.

Ironically, my arrest was actually due to a mistake by the French police themselves: before August 2024, they ignored both French and EU laws and never sent any inquiries to Telegram through the prescribed legal channels.

A year after this bizarre arrest, I still have to return to France every 14 days, yet there is still no appeal date. So far, the only result of my arrest has been the severe damage to France's image as a free country. One thing is certain: we will continue to fight—and we will win."