Sunday 24th of November 2024
Home » Blogs » Gus Leonisky's blog

western porkies barbecued by telegram....

US tech mogul Elon Musk has called for the release of Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov, who was arrested on Saturday shortly after arriving at Paris-Le Bourget airport.

Authorities in France believe that the 39-year-old dual Russian-French national is complicit in a range of crimes allegedly committed on his platform, arguing that insufficient moderation allows for Telegram to be widely used to break the law.

Musk took to his own platform to post a video of Durov talking to American conservative journalist Tucker Carlson about freedom of speech online and claiming that he was happy about the fact that Elon Musk had purchased Twitter. The entrepreneur coupled the video with the hashtag ‘#FreePavel’.

He was swift to publicly condemn the reported arrest. “POV: It’s 2030 in Europe and you’re being executed for liking a meme,” he wrote in a comment to a news story.

Musk also wrote ‘Dangerous times’ in his reaction to a post listing different countries where “free speech is under attack” that mentions France’s reported arrest of Durov.

 

https://www.rt.com/news/603038-elon-musk-free-pavel-durov/

 

---------------------

 

On Saturday night, Telegram’s founder and frontman Pavel Durov was arrested by French police. The Saint Petersburg native – who is also a citizen of France, the UAE and St Kitts & Nevis – has yet to be charged, but news outlets are claiming he faces a long jail sentence.

Here, some leading Russian media and political voices react to the news that has shaken the internet.

Dmitry Medvedev, Head of the Russian Security Council and former president of Russia:

A while back, indeed a long time ago, I asked Durov why he did not want to cooperate with law enforcement agencies on serious crimes. ‘This is my principled position’ he said. ‘Then, you will have serious problems in every country,’ I told him.

He thought his biggest issues were in Russia, so he left and then got citizenship and/or residency in other countries. He wanted to be a brilliant ‘man of the world’ who could live perfectly well without his homeland. Ubi bene ibi patria (where there is bread, there is country)!

He miscalculated. To all our common enemies, he is still Russian – and therefore unpredictable and dangerous. Of a different blood. Certainly not Musk or Zuckerberg (who, by the way, is actively cooperating with the FBI). Durov should finally realize that the fatherland, like the times, cannot be chosen…

Fyodor Lukyanov, the editor-in-chief of Russia in Global Affairs:

Modernity is moving in mysterious ways. In a sense, Pavel Durov could occupy the niche recently vacated by Julian Assange (who, incidentally, has yet to speak out since his release). However, Assange was the embodiment of the collective Left, which was most prominent in raising the issue of his persecution. Durov, on the other hand, will be defended by the conservative flank.

Andrey Medvedev, journalist, TV presenter, politician and deputy speaker of the Moscow City Duma

Durov’s arrest in itself might not have caused a stir in Russia. Were it not for one circumstance.

As it happens, he is a major figure in the current war. Telegram is an alternative to closed military communication. Probably from today on, the question of creating a military messenger for our army will become vital.

For how long Telegram will remain as we know it, and whether it will continue as a messenger at all, is now hard to predict.

Evgeny Primakov, Head of the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States, [Russian] Compatriots Living Abroad and International Humanitarian Cooperation

About Pavel Durov: don’t forget that ‘democracy’ is the rule of democrats, never mind all this ‘freedom’ stuff. That’s why Western Europe and the broader Western world have the most democracy.

And also note how the [British state broadcaster] BBC’s Russian service is noticeably holding its tongue about Durov’s arrest. Firstly, because the editors have not been given instructions [from London]; secondly, because how can they explain it without putting their dear friends in a bad light; thirdly, I repeat, the power of democrats. It wasn’t the evil FSB that threw a freedom-loving fighter for freedom into prison. This is different, you must understand.

Margarita Simonyan, RT editor-in-chief

Pavel Durov left Russia to avoid cooperation with the security services. He even became Paul du Rov. He partially cooperated with Western intelligence services – at least he strictly followed orders to block RT in those countries where we are under sanctions. It didn’t help him.

What is the main lesson from the Durov story? That anyone who has used Telegram for sensitive conversations/texts should delete it now and never use it again. Because Durov was arrested to take away his keys. And he’s going to give them up.

Georgy Bovt, political analyst, journalist

Russia and Azerbaijan have a treaty of 22 December 1992 on mutual legal assistance and legal relations in civil, family and criminal matters. So, in theory, Russia could have issued an arrest warrant for Durov, last week, on roughly the same charges as the French have, and then requested his extradition from Azerbaijan, where he flew to before going to France.

This would have been followed by widespread Western European wailing about ‘human rights violations and trampling on freedom of speech’ by two authoritarian ‘bloody regimes.’ Especially if – and it would have been easy to build a case – he had been accused of “discrediting” the Russian army. Durov would have been declared a ‘prisoner of conscience’ and a fight for his release would have been launched. But the arrest at Le Bourget is different, of course.

Vyacheslav Davankov, Deputy Speaker of the State Duma, Leader of the New People Party:

According to media reports, Pavel Durov has been arrested in France. Hardly anyone has done more for the development of digital services in Russia and the world than he has.

Now he must be pulled out. We urge Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to call on the French authorities to release Durov from custody.

His arrest may be politically motivated and a tool to gain access to the personal data of Telegram users. This must not be allowed to happen.

According to media reports, French law enforcement agencies believe Durov is involved in ‘drug trafficking, crimes against children, and fraud’ because of Telegram’s ‘lack of moderation and cooperation with the law.’ The world doesn’t have a single messenger where such violations don’t occur. But somehow no one arrests or jails their owners. And that should not happen now.

If the French authorities refuse to release Durov from custody, I suggest that every effort be made to transfer him to the territory of the United Arab Emirates or the Russian Federation. With his consent, of course.

***

I did not think I would ever come up with such an initiative. But I propose that [Russian regulator] Roskomnadzor temporarily restrict access to the websites of French companies and organizations that earn money in Russia. And, until Pavel is released, this should be done by all countries in the world that respect the freedom and privacy of their citizens’ correspondence. The French understand the language of money better than any diplomacy.

https://www.rt.com/news/603061-durov-arrest-russians-reaction/

 

 

YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

 

french piss.....

Telegram messaging app CEO Pavel Durov arrested at French airport

Pavel Durov, Franco-Russian billionaire founder and CEO of the Telegram messaging app, was arrested at the Bourget airport outside Paris, French media reported, citing unidentified sources, and is set to appear in court Sunday. Russian-born Durov, 39, founded Telegram with his brother in 2013, and the encrypted messaging app is influential in Russia, Ukraine and the republics of the former Soviet Union.

 

Telegram chief executive Pavel Durov is expected to appear in court Sunday after being arrested by French police at an airport near Parisfor alleged offences related to his popular messaging app, sources told AFP.

The Franco-Russian billionaire, 39, was detained at Le Bourget airport north of the French capital on Saturday evening, one of the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Durov had arrived from Baku, in Azerbaijan, another source close to the case said.

France's OFMIN, an office tasked with preventing violence against minors, had issued an arrest warrant for Durov in a preliminary investigation into alleged offences including fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organised crime and promotion of terrorism, one of the sources said.

Durov is accused of failing to take action to curb the criminal use of his platform.

"Enough of Telegram's impunity," said one of the investigators, adding they were surprised Durov came to Paris knowing he was a wanted man.

France ‘refusing to cooperate’, says Russia

The Russian embassy in Paris on Sunday accused French authorities of "refusing to cooperate" after Durov’s arrest.

"We immediately asked French authorities to explain the reasons for this detention and demanded that his rights be protected and that consular access be granted. Up to now, the French side is refusing to cooperate on this question," the embassy said in a statement reported by Ria Novosti news agency.

Responding to the news of Durov’s arrest, Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president on Sunday said Telegram’s founder had “miscalculated” by fleeing Russia and thinking that he would never have to cooperate with the security services abroad.

Medvedev related a conversation he had with Durov several years ago in which Medvedev told him that if he did not want to cooperate with law enforcement agencies,  he would have problems in any country.

Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia's Security Council, said Durov wanted to be a 'brilliant "man of the world who lives wonderfully without a Motherland".

"He miscalculated," Medvedev said. "For all our common enemies now, he is Russian – and therefore unpredictable and dangerous."

Platform of 'privacy'

The encrypted messaging app, based in Dubai, has positioned itself as an alternative to US-owned platforms, which have been criticised for their commercial exploitation of users' personal data.

Telegram has committed to never disclosing any information about its users.

In a rare interview given to right-wing talk show host Tucker Carlson in April, Durov said he got the idea to launch an encrypted messaging app after coming under pressure from the Russian government when working at VK, a social network he created before selling it and leaving Russia in 2014.

He said he then tried to settle in Berlin, London, Singapore and San Francisco before choosing Dubai, which he praised for its business environment and "neutrality".

People "love the independence. They also love the privacy, the freedom, (there are) a lot of reasons why somebody would switch to Telegram", Durov told Carlson.

He said at the time that the platform had more than 900 million active users.

By basing itself in the United Arab Emirates, Telegram has been able to shield itself from moderation laws at a time when Western countries are pressuring large platforms to remove illegal content.

Telegram allows groups of up to 200,000 members, which has led to accusations that it makes it easier for false information to spread virally, as well as for users to disseminate neo-Nazi, paedophilic, conspiratorial and terrorist content.

Competitor messaging service WhatsApp introduced worldwide limits on message forwarding in 2019 after it was accused of enabling the spread of false information in India that led to lynchings.

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20240825-telegram-chief-pavel-durov-arrested-at-french-airport

 

READ FROM TOP

 

YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

chicken offals....

MACRON, AS USUAL, WASHES HIS HANDS WITH RUBBISH AND CHICKEN OFFALS....  HE CLAIMS THAT THE ARREST OF PAVEL IS NOT POLITICAL.... THIS IS BULLSHIT AS THE LAWS USED FOR PAVEL'S ARREST ARE POLITICALLY CREATED.

 

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov in France is not a political decision, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday.

On Saturday, Russian-born Durov, who is a citizen of multiple countries, including France, was detained in France on charges linked to criminal uses of the Telegram app, including terrorism, drug trafficking, money laundering and fraud, which could land the 39-year-old billionaire in prison for up to 20 years.

Macron says arrest of Telegram's Durov 'in no way a political decision'

Durov's arrest is part of ongoing probe, 'up to judges to decide' — Macron pic.twitter.com/ZODvJPgr4J

— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) August 26, 2024

"The detention... took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation. This is by no means a political decision. The decision will be made by the judges," Macron said on X.

 

What are the Charges Against Durov?

Durov is charged with refusing to cooperate on cyber and financial crimes on Telegram, and is currently still in custody, while the investigation is underway, Reuters reported on Monday, citing police.

Durov charged with refusing to cooperate on cyber and financial crimes on Telegram — reports quoting police

French police said that the Durov case is still under investigation – media

French police say Durov is still in custody. An investigation is underway – reports pic.twitter.com/21768sbtvY

— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) August 26, 2024

 

Reaction From OHCHR

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) told Sputnik on Monday that it is aware of the arrest of the founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, in France, but does not have enough information to comment on the issue.

"We are aware of the reports on the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov in France. At this stage of the investigation, we do not have enough information, and it would be too early for us to weigh in," the OHCHR said.

On Saturday, Russian-born Durov, who is a citizen of multiple countries, including France, was detained in France on charges linked to criminal uses of the Telegram app, including terrorism, drug trafficking, money laundering and fraud, which could land the 39-year-old billionaire in prison for up to 20 years. Later, French President Emmanuel Macron said that Durov's arrest was not a political decision, but a one made by judges.

 

Durov May Remain in Police Custody in France Until August 28 - Paris Prosecutor's Office

The founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, may remain in police custody in France until August 28, the Paris Prosecutor's Office told Sputnik on Monday.

"The custody period was extended until the 25th August 2024 by an investigative magistrate and can last up to 96 hours (that being the 28th August 2024) given the applicable procedure for organized crime offences, as referred to above," the statement read.

The case against Durov in France was opened on July 8, and the CEO has been charged with 12 crimes, the Paris Prosecutor's Office said.

"Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of instant messaging and platform Telegram, was arrested at Le Bourget airport in the outskirts of Paris on Saturday, the 24th of August 2024, then taken into police custody at 8 p.m. This measure comes in the context of a judicial investigation opened 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 statement said.

Durov is being interrogated as part of the investigation of numerous cybercrimes in the case against an unnamed person, the Paris Prosecutor's Office said, adding that the charges include, among others, fraud, illegal transactions, drug trafficking, distribution of pornography, money laundering, providing illegal cryptography services, as well as refusing to communicate at the request of competent authorities.

 

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240826/macron-says-telegram-ceo-arrest-in-france-not-political-decision-1119915493.html

 

READ FROM TOP

 

YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.