NNA – The Kremlin said Tuesday that France had levelled quot;very seriousquot; charges against Telegram CEO Pavel Durov and warned Paris against trying to intimidate him, after the tech tycoon was arrested at a Paris airport last week.
French prosecutors accuse the 39-year-old billionaire of failing to curb the spread of illegal content on Telegram — charges his company denies.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday denied any political link to the arrest.
quot;The charges are indeed very serious, they require no less serious evidence. Otherwise this would be a direct attempt to restrict freedom of communication, and, I might even say, directly intimidate the head of a large company,quot; Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
quot;That is to say, precisely the policy that Mr Macron denied yesterday,quot; Peskov added.
Numerous questions have been raised about the timing and circumstances of Durov#39;s detention, which a source close to the case said had been extended until Wednesday.
Durov holds a French passport in addition to Russian nationality.
In its press information, Telegram says its founder has quot;dual citizenship of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Francequot;.
The UAE said Tuesday it had requested consular services for the billionaire and was closely following his case.–AFP
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