PARIS, August 27. /TASS/. Pavel Durov, a co-founder of the Telegram messenger, detained in France on August 24, still has the status of a suspect, Philippe de Veulle, a French lawyer, member of the Paris Bar, head of the doctoral program of the University Paris Descartes, Philippe de Veulle, has told TASS.

"He is under suspicion. From the point of view of French law, he is still considered innocent of everything he is suspected of," the lawyer said.

De Veulle added that after the expiration of the detention period, the judge in charge of Durov's case may decide to keep him in custody to prevent the Telegram co-founder from leaving France, should he try.

"Durov may be assigned pre-trial detention as part of the criminal case so that he does not leave the territory of the country," the expert said.

Durov was detained at Paris' Le Bourget airport on August 24. The next day his detention was extended to 96 hours. The Paris prosecutor's office suspects him, in particular, of complicity in drug trafficking, crimes against children and fraud. In fact, it considers him as an accomplice of those who commit these and other offenses using Telegram.

The Russian embassy in France told TASS that it intended to press for the respect for Durov's rights and obtain consular access to him, but "the French side has so far avoided interaction on this issue."