Paris: Telegram founder Pavel Durov has publicly criticized French authorities, alleging that a case against him has unfairly damaged France's reputation as a bastion of freedom. This criticism comes in light of a yearlong legal saga stemming from his arrest in August 2024.

According to Anadolu Agency, Durov was detained by French police for four days after unidentified individuals allegedly used Telegram to coordinate criminal activities. The tech entrepreneur expressed his disbelief over the arrest in a statement posted on his Telegram account, describing it as both unprecedented and legally unfounded. He further accused the authorities of bypassing established national and European Union procedures for making requests to the platform, suggesting that the correct protocol could have easily been verified through a simple online search or inquiry.

Durov emphasized that the ongoing investigation has failed to produce any evidence of wrongdoing by either him or Telegram. He highlighted that Telegram's moderation policies align with industry standards and that the platform complies with legally binding requests. Despite this compliance, he faces the burden of returning to France every two weeks without an appeal date in sight.

In 2024, French prosecutors announced that Durov was under investigation on suspicion of facilitating illegal activities through Telegram, which boasts over 900 million users globally. His detention at Paris' Le Bourget airport included charges of complicity in operating a network platform to enable illegal transactions as part of a criminal group.