"Closely following Telegram founder Pavel Durov's case": UAE asks France for consular access

ABU DHABI: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is closely monitoring the case of Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of Telegram, who holds Emirati citizenship, after his arrest in France and the extension of his detention period by French authorities, Al Jazeera reported. Notably, the founder of the Telegram messaging app, Pavel Durov, who had an arrest warrant issued against him, was detained by the French authorities at an airport outside Paris, CNN reported.

Officers from France's anti-fraud office, attached to French customs, took the French-Russian billionaire into custody on Saturday evening after he arrived at Bourget Airport on a flight from Azerbaijan, according to CNN affiliate BFMTV. The UAE's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement early on Tuesday that it was "closely following" Durov's case and that it had "submitted a request to the French government to provide him with all consular services urgently," according to Al-Jazeera.

"Caring for citizens, preserving their interests, following up on their affairs, and providing them with all aspects of care are a top priority for the UAE," the ministry said in the statement. Durov, 39, was wanted under a French arrest warrant due to the lack of moderation on Telegram, which allegedly led to the platform being used for money laundering, drug trafficking and sharing pedophilic content.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron after the arrest of Durov said that France is deeply committed to freedom of expression and communication. Sharing a post on X two days ago, Macron said, "I have seen false information regarding France following the arrest of Pavel Durov. France is deeply committed to freedom of expression and communication, to innovation, and to the spirit of entrepreneurship. It will remain so. In a state governed by the rule of law, freedoms are upheld within a legal framework, both on social media and in real life, to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights. It is up to the judiciary, in full independence, to enforce the law."

The post further said, "The arrest of the president of Telegram on French soil took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation. It is in no way a political decision. It is up to the judges to rule on the matter."

Notably, France issued an arrest warrant for Durov on charges of complicity in drug trafficking, crimes against children and fraud due to the lack of moderation on Telegram and his failure to cooperate with law enforcement, the Moscow Times reported, citing French local media. The Russian-born founder of Telegram, which he says boasts over 900 million users, is currently based in Dubai. He became a naturalised French citizen in August 2021.

Durov, who is also the founder of the VKontakte social network, left Russia in 2014 after he refused to share VKontakte users' data with Russian security services. Later, Russia unsuccessfully attempted to block Telegram over its refusal to provide users' online communications to security services.