Photo credit: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg

The Paris prosecutor's office has officially released a press release that they have pressed charges against Telegram’s founder, Pavel Durov, for allegedly being involved in cybercrime activities.

According to the official statements published on Aug. 26, French authorities had arrested Durov at Le Bourget airport in Paris on Aug. 24 and was taken into police custody at 8 p.m. 

The authorities stated that the arrest was made as part of “a judicial investigation opened on the 8th of July 2024, following a preliminary inquiry initiated by Section J3 - JUNALCO (Fight against Cybercrime) of the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office.” 

The charges against Durov include several complicities such as enabling illegal transactions in the organized group, refusing to communicate with authorities, possessing illicit images, conducting narcotics activities, organizing fraud, and conducting crime punishable by 5 or more years of imprisonment. 

Durov’s arrest which happened on Aug. 24 was a shock for many tech enthusiasts and the community believed the French government had violated the freedom of speech.

Responding to the community protest, Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, claimed that Durov’s arrest took place as part of an “ongoing judicial investigation.” The president also mentioned that the latest action against Durov is not a “political decision,” and it is up to the “judges.”

However, several X users claimed that Macron was lying and called the president a “dictator.”  Although Macron claimed that France is deeply committed to “freedom of expression and communication,” one X user under the pseudonym of Viva Frei shared a news snippet where France’s president suggested censoring social media companies during riots. 

Read more: Telegram affirms EU compliance following Durov’s arrest