MOSCOW, August 26. /TASS/. The United States will seek to take the Telegram online messenger under control to "use the information against Russian troops," Vladimir Dzhabarov, deputy chairman of the Russian Federation Council (upper house of parliament) Committee on International Affairs, opined.
Commenting on the arrest of Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov in France to Rossiya-24 television, the senior Russian senator said: "I think there is something else at play here, the special military operation. While many say that Telegram is safe for use, the Americans do not <…> read this social network, therefore they will attempt to establish control over this platform in order to use the information against Russian troops. I think we will take this into account," he told the TV channel.
Dzhabarov believes the Americans are "clearly" behind the decision by French special services to detain Durov. "I think the Americans will be looking to pour over all of Telegram, one post at a time. They aren’t just going to say, Mr. Durov, please provide us with information about this specific person who we suspect of terrorism here. Of course not, they will read through everything instead," he maintained. The senator called on users of Telegram to take this into consideration.
Also, according to Dzhabarov, US intelligence agencies may try to get Durov to cooperate with them. "I think they will likely try to break him as they once did with [Facebook CEO Mark] Zuckerberg. You know he used to speak about independence, but all his networks have come to <…> cooperate very nicely with special services. And WhatsApp is under the full control of the Americans. I think they will try to do the same to Telegram," he maintained. "Or else they will leave Durov incarcerated until he cracks," he concluded.
On the evening of August 24, Durov was detained at France’s Le Bourget airport. Law enforcement agencies suspect him of being complicit in drug trafficking, crimes against minors and fraud amid the messenger’s lack of moderation, its refusal to cooperate with law enforcement, and the tools provided by the application to sell cryptocurrency, TF1 reported.
The Russian Embassy in France told TASS that it would seek to protect Durov’s rights and make sure he has access to consular services, but that "the French side has so far refused to cooperate on this issue." Durov also holds a French passport.