Telegram’s Pavel Durov transferred to French court to face possible charges

Investigating judge ends Durov’s police custody and will have him brought to court, Paris prosecutor’s office says.

Russian-born Telegram boss Pavel Durov has been sent to see a French investigative judge who is due to decide whether to place him under formal investigation after his arrest as part of a probe into organised crime on the social media and messaging app.

Durov’s detention after he landed in Paris on a private jet on Saturday has put the spotlight on the criminal liability of app providers and fuelled debate on where freedom of speech ends and enforcement of the law begins.

“An investigating judge has ended Pavel Durov’s police custody and will have him brought to court for a first appearance and a possible indictment,” a statement from the Paris Prosecutor’s Office said on Wednesday.

Being placed under formal investigation in France does not imply guilt or necessarily lead to trial but indicates that judges consider there is enough to the case to proceed with the probe. Investigations can last years before being sent to trial or shelved.

The judge’s decision was expected by 8pm (18:00 GMT), 96 hours after Durov was taken into custody, the maximum period he can be detained before a decision is made.