French judicial authorities have extended the detention of Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov following his surprise arrest at Paris' Le Bourget airport on Saturday.
The list of charges include fraud, drug trafficking, organized crime, terrorism promotion and cyber-bullying on the popular encrypted messaging platform. "It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform," the company has said in a fresh statement.
The 39-year old Russian-born Durov, who also holds French and UAE citizenship, is being held for "questioning". Le Monde is reporting Monday that his detention has been extended by the investigative magistrate.
His detention "was extended beyond Sunday night by the investigating magistrate who is handling the case, according to a source close to the investigation."
Today’s Russian papers on Pavel Durov’s detention in Paris:
— Steve Rosenberg (@BBCSteveR) August 26, 2024
* “The blow to Telegram threatens to become a blow to Russia.”
* “Telegram might become a tool of Nato…”
* “If Telegram crashes, how will [our army] fight?"#ReadingRussia pic.twitter.com/q4IYalPjHM
