According to Durov, he was detained at the airport and read out a list of charges.
“I could not write messages, because I was immediately taken away from my phone. I could not contact anyone except my assistant, to whom I told me to find lawyers and contact some friends to understand what was happening,” he said.
The founder of Telegram emphasized that in the room where he was held, he was constantly blinking the light. He noted that it was a single camera and he was “kept in isolation.”
“In a room with an area of 7 m², without windows, from concrete blocks. In a narrow room, without bedding, pillows, mattress – only a yoga rug, maybe 1 cm thick. The door was reliably closed,” he said.
Durov noted that he spent four days in a police station in the south of Paris in a single chamber, but emphasized that it was not a prison or pre -trial detention center.
“From a legal point of view, this was not a prison, but in fact it was just like that. I was kept against my will. I realized that, probably, it was an alleged lack of reaction from Telegram to the requests of French justice,” he added.
Context
Durov was detained on the evening of August 24, 2024 at the Parisian airport Le Bourget, as the French prosecutor's office reported, On the basis of the warrant in the case, which on July 8 began the Department of Combat Cybercriminals. The case is carried out against persons suspected of complicity in a number of cybercrime.
Law enforcement officers kept Durov in custody until August 28. On that day, he was released on bail in the amount of € 5 million, he was forbidden to leave France. Six paragraphs were charged against the businessman, among them – refusal to provide information or documents for requests for authorized bodies for the listening law permitted by the law; complicity in providing access to Telegram users who distribute pornographic content with minors, drug sellers, scammers; Washing money.
The media noted that the main reason for Durov’s detention is his refusal to modulate Telegram, often used by criminals and the refusal to cooperate with law enforcement agencies.
On March 17, Durov announced on his page in the messenger that he had left France.
