The United Arab Emirates said Tuesday it had requested consular services for Telegram founder Pavel Durov after the Dubai-based tech boss was arrested in France over alleged failings to curb criminality on the app.
“The UAE is closely following the case of its citizen Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram, who was arrested by the French authorities in Paris–Le Bourget Airport,” the Gulf state’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
“The UAE has submitted a request to the Government of the French Republic to provide him with all the necessary consular services in an urgent manner,” it added.
French authorities arrested Durov, the 39-year-old billionaire founder of the Telegram messaging platform, late Saturday. He is accused of failing to curb the spread of illegal content on Telegram, which has more than 900 million users. The company has rejected the accusations.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday denied any political motivations for the arrest, as the tech entrepreneur spent a second day in custody
Later on Monday, French authorities again extended Durov’s initial detention for questioning until Wednesday, according to a source close to the investigation.
Dubai-headquartered Telegram said on Sunday that “Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe.”
“Telegram abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act — its moderation is within industry standards,” the company said. “It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform.”
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