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Pavel Durov's detention

Still no response from French authorities regarding Durov’s detention — Russian Embassy

"The Russian Embassy continues raising this issue and keeps contact with the French side, but it France has not yet given any comprehensible answer," the diplomatic mission stated

PARIS, August 28. /TASS/. French authorities still keep being silent regarding Russian Embassy's requests for consular access to Telegram founder Pavel Durov, the Russian Embassy in France told TASS.

"The [Russian] Embassy continues raising this issue and keeps contact with the French side, but it [France] has not yet given any comprehensible answer," the Embassy stated.

Durov, one of the world’s most influential tech icons, had been arrested at Le Bourget Airport late on August 24; his custody was extended to 96 hours the next day. The Paris prosecutor’s office suspects him of complicity in drug trafficking, fraud crimes against children committed through Telegram.

Earlier, the Brussels-based Politico news outlet reported that France had issued arrest warrants for Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolay as long ago as March 2024.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said earlier in the day that Russian diplomats in Paris are doing everything they should as they deal with the detention of the Telegram messaging app’s founder, Pavel Durov.

According to Zakharova: "We emphasized right away that we understand the practice that exists in France - if a person has a French passport, officials in Paris do not grant access, usually treating detainees or arrestees as citizens of their country.".

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