Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has criticized the West for the arrest of Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, in France. Vucic accused the West of abandoning the values it previously championed when Durov was seen as an advocate for free speech that aligned with Western interests.
“The charges against Telegram’s founder, Pavel Durov, in France, show that the West has abandoned the values it defended only a few years ago,” Vucic said. The Russian billionaire is under investigation in France for several suspected offenses related to criminal activity on the platform, including alleged involvement in illegal transactions with gangs, “money laundering within an organized crime group,” and refusal to share information with authorities, according to the French prosecutor’s office.
Speaking on a news program Monday evening, Vucic described Durov’s case as “interesting” and compared it to Julian Assange and Edward Snowden.
“Everything has become murky, reality itself has been altered to fit their [the West’s] interests,” Vučić said, echoing sentiments favorable to Russia, which were amplified by the Russian state media outlet “Russia Today.”
The suspected offenses under investigation include “aiding in the administration of a platform enabling illegal transactions within an organized crime group,” a crime that could result in a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
Durov, 39, was arrested at Paris’s Bourget Airport on Saturday. He is being investigated on charges related to a range of crimes, including allegations that his platform assisted scammers, drug traffickers, and individuals spreading child pornography.
Telegram, and its lack of content moderation, has also come under scrutiny for its use by terrorist groups and right-wing extremists.
He has been placed in custody for up to 96 hours, the maximum time allowed under French law before formal charges are filed./TheGeopost
