France hands Telegram CEO Pavel Durov preliminary charges over alleged criminal activity on the app
CBSN
Paris — French authorities handed preliminary charges to Telegram CEO Pavel Durov on Wednesday for allowing alleged criminal activity on his messaging app and barred him from leaving France pending further investigation. Free-speech advocates and authoritarian governments have spoken in Durov's defense since his weekend arrest, with the chief Kremlin spokesman in Moscow warning Thursday that the case must "not to run into political persecution."
"We consider him a Russian citizen and as much as possible we will be ready to provide assistance," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that the Russian government would be "watching what happens next" in the case of the technology entrepreneur. Durov was born in Russia but left the country about a decade ago and now holds citizenship there, as well as in France, the United Arab Emirates and the small Caribbean nation of St. Kitts and Nevis.
The case has called attention to the challenges of policing illegal activity online, and to Durov's own unusual biography and multiple passports.
