Just before George Simion was asking for Pavel Durov's hearing in Romania, which forbade the founder of Telegram to make him
Pavel Durov in Paris. Photo: at nacion / zuma press / profimedia
The French authorities rejected the request of the founder of the Telegram messenger application, Russian entrepreneur Pavel Durov, to go on a visit to the United States, Polito reported on Tuesday, citing the Paris Prosecutor's Office.
“Such a journey abroad does not seem imperative or justified,” the French Prosecutor's Office said.
Durov, who was forbidden to leave France last year after being charged for several heads of accusation related to alleged illicit activities, intended to move to the US for “negotiations with investment funds”.
The Paris Prosecutor's Office stated, for the publication in Brussels, that it rejected on May 12 the entrepreneur's request. However, the French authorities allowed Durov to travel to Dubai earlier this year.
Durov, who holds both French and United Arab Emirates, was arrested in Paris last year after being accused of failing to fight extremist content and terrorist connotations.
The Russian businessman was released on bail, but he forbade him to leave France without permission. In addition to the travel prohibition, he had to submit a bail of 5 million euros and is obliged to come to the police twice a week.
Ever since he was arrested, Durov has launched a series of constant criticisms against the French government.
On Sunday, he stated that representatives of the French government-including the head of the French Foreign Intelligence Agency, Nicolas Lerne-asked them to censure the “conservative political voices” in Romania before the presidential election, Gold, George Simion, and the independent candidate Nicușor Dan.
“A Western government (…) approached Telegram, asking us to silence conservative voices in Romania before today's presidential elections. We categorically refused,” Durov wrote on Telegram.
“Telegram will not restrict the freedoms of Romanian users and will not block their political channels,” added the founder of the messaging application, putting an emoji, in what the Reuters agency has interpreted as an allusion to France.
“You cannot” defend democracy “by destroying democracy. You cannot combat the “interference in elections” by mixing in the elections. Either you have freedom of expression and correct choices – or you don't. And the Romanian people deserve both, ”said Pavel Durov.
France's Foreign Ministry has denied the accusations made by Durov.
For his part, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of our country on Sunday denounced the “signs of Russian interference” in elections and said that on Telegram and other social media platforms there is a “viral false news campaign”.
The Telegram's messaging application reported over 1 billion active users in March.
Simion asked Durov's hearing in Romania. The answer came quickly
On Tuesday night, George Simion announced that he will challenge the result of the presidential election at the Constitutional Court (CCR), after which Nicușor Dan was elected as president. The gold leader also requested the hearing of the founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, before this election was validated.
What Simion argued:
- “The social networks were handled and the algorithms were used in the direction of influencing Romanian citizens. The testimony of the Creator Telegram in which he says that the French government intervened to censure our voices during this period is grateful and demand the hearing of the Creator Telegram before these elections are declared valid.
- Just because I avoided on Sunday, on May 18, a bloodshed, just because I chose to read the number of votes in the ballot box and that I do not want the disappearance of Romania as a state, it does not mean that we can be taken by fools. Our efforts of the next few days and from the coming weeks will be to stop any order from France or other states
- State actors, such as the Republic of Moldova and France, and non -state actors who have influenced the algorithms of social networks are proved and must be the High Court and the Constitutional Court to take these evidence.“
Video George Simion announces that he will challenge the result of presidential elections at the CCR: “For exactly the same reasons they canceled the elections in December”
At the time, the Telegram chief came with an answer on the X network.
“I am ready to come and testify if this helps the Romanian democracy,” wrote Pavel Durov, in a post on the social network X.
