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Pavel Durov's detention

France 'crosses a red line' by arresting Telegram founder Durov — Rumble chief

"Rumble will not stand for this behavior and will use every legal means available to fight for freedom of expression," Chris Pavlovski said

NEW YORK, August 26. /TASS/. French authorities have "crossed a red line" after they decided to detain Telegram messenger founder Pavel Durov, Chris Pavlovski, the CEO of Rumble online video platform, said on Monday.

"France has threatened Rumble, and now they have crossed a red line by arresting Telegram’s CEO, Pavel Durov, reportedly for not censoring speech," Pavlovski wrote on his X social network account.

"Rumble will not stand for this behavior and will use every legal means available to fight for freedom of expression, a universal human right. We are currently fighting in the courts of France, and we hope for Pavel Durov’s immediate release," he added.

The LCI television channel reported earlier that Durov, one of the world’s most influential tech icons, had been arrested at Le Bourget Airport late on August 24. He has been placed in custody and may soon be brought to court, the TF1 television channel said. According to TF1, Durov might be charged with terrorism, drug trafficking, fraud, money laundering and child pornography.

On Sunday, the Paris prosecutor’s office pledged to come up with a statement on the matter on August 26.

Meanwhile, the Russian Embassy in France, announced to TASS that it would demand the French authorities grant consular access to the man. It stressed that it had called on the French authorities to observe Durov’s rights but Paris is dodging cooperation on this issue. However, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Durov’s French citizenship is a problem for Russia.

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