PARIS, September 2. /TASS/. French authorities did not grant Russian diplomats consular access to Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov during his detention or give any response to the relevant request, the Russian Embassy in Paris told TASS.
"During the period of Pavel Durov's detention, consular access to him was not granted. In general, no response — neither positive nor negative — was given by the French authorities to our request," the Embassy stated. It also clarified that neither Durov nor his representatives had sent any appeals to the Embassy.
Durov was detained in the Le Bourget airport on August 24. On the next day, his custody period was prolonged up to 96 hours. On August 28, his preliminary custody was over, the entrepreneur was delivered to a court, where the prosecutor charged Durov with six offences, which include complicity in administration of an online platform that enabled illegal transactions within, committed within a criminal group. The offense, according to a statement from the Paris prosecutor's office, is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of 500,000 euros. According to the decision of the investigating judge who handled the case, Durov was placed under judicial supervision with an obligation to post a bail of 5 million euros. He was also ordered to report to the police twice a week and prohibited from leaving France.