The Arrest of Telegram Creator Is an Assault on Human Rights says Snowden

PARIS, France, August 24, 2024 - Former CIA analyst Edward Snowden, On Sunday criticised French President Emmanuel Macron for the arrest of Pavel Durov, the creator of the encrypted messaging network Telegram.

“The arrest of Durov is an assault on the basic human rights of speech and association,” the former CIA agent wrote on the social network X.

“I am surprised and deeply saddened that Macron has descended to the level of taking hostages as a means for gaining access to private communications,” he added.

Durov’s arrests “lowers no only France, but the world,” stated Snowden, who rarely makes public statements.

WhatsApp espía tus conversaciones y contactos, Facebook vende todos tus datos, X garantiza los bots para la desinformación, pero en el mundo libre detienen a Pavel Durov fundador de Telegram, por "falta de moderación", por negarse a dar información de sus usuarios...! pic.twitter.com/hHqQc8cXVn

— DAViD.cu (@_Davidcu) August 24, 2024

The former CIA agent, who received Russian citizenship in September 2022, has lived in Russia since 2013, when he revealed details of US spying programmes.

Durov was arrested last night as he disembarked from his private plane on the runway at Paris-Le Bourget airport, coming from Azerbaijan. This 39-year-old Franco-Russian billionaire was the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the Office for Minors (OFMIN) of the National Directorate of Criminal Investigation.

The French courts maintain that the lack of moderation on Telegram and Durov’s failure to cooperate with the authorities, together with the tools that the platform offers, such as disposable numbers and encryption, make him complicit in crimes such as drug trafficking, paedophilia, and fraud.

#Brazil | A federal judge ordered the temporary suspension of the messaging application Telegram. pic.twitter.com/Oy3Rh8JCar

— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) April 27, 2023