
<p>Free speech is under attack worldwide by leftist regimes and the recent arrest of Pavel Durov, CEO of the messaging app Telegram, has raised serious concerns among free speech advocates across the globe.</p>



<p>Durov was arrested by French authorities late on Saturday (August 24) as he landed at Le Bourget airport outside Paris. Initially there was no reason provided for the arrest and till the time of this writing, Durov has not been charged with crimes. The arrest of the 39-year-old billionaire, who hails from Russia but has multiple citizenships including France’s, sparked an instant reaction from activists, journalists, and governments – all heavily critical of the French government.</p>



<p>The Russian government immediately contacted the left-wing Macron administration that arrested Durov and demanded protection of his rights while asking for consular access to Durov. <em>ZeroHedge</em> reported:</p>



<p><em>Russian diplomats say there has been no reply from Paris: &#8220;The French side has so far been avoiding cooperation on this issue,&#8221; a statement said. Russian lawmakers have gone so far as to say he is now a &#8220;political prisoner&#8221;.</em></p>



<p>Tucker Carlson, who interviewed Durov in April this year, reposted the video of his interview with the Telegram CEO on X (Twitter) and wrote that Durov had previously been harassed by the Russian government. Yet in the end, it was not Putin who arrested him but a NATO country that is an ally of the Biden administration.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Pavel Durov left Russia when the government tried to control his social media company, Telegram. But in the end, it wasn’t Putin who arrested him for allowing the public to exercise free speech. It was a western country, a Biden administration ally and enthusiastic NATO member,… <a href="https://t.co/F83E9GbNHC">https://t.co/F83E9GbNHC</a></p>&mdash; Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) <a href="https://twitter.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1827460234887008277?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 24, 2024</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p>Former National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden, who in 2013 exposed the Obama administration for illegally spying on American citizens, called the arrest of Durov “an assault on the basic human rights of speech and association” and added that such a move “lowers” France as well as the world.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The arrest of <a href="https://twitter.com/durov?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Durov</a> is an assault on the basic human rights of speech and association. I am surprised and deeply saddened that Macron has descended to the level of taking hostages as a means for gaining access to private communications. It lowers not only France, but the world.</p>&mdash; Edward Snowden (@Snowden) <a href="https://twitter.com/Snowden/status/1827695836832334169?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 25, 2024</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p>Dr. Simone Gold, President of America’s Frontline Doctors, wrote on X that Durov was arrested “because he won&#8217;t cooperate with governments who want to spy on their citizens data and posts on Telegram.”</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Pavel Durov, fearless founder of Telegram and defender of free speech was arrested today in Paris on trumped up charges because he won&#39;t cooperate with governments who want to spy on their citizens data and posts on Telegram.<br><br>This is so wrong.</p>&mdash; Dr. Simone Gold (@drsimonegold) <a href="https://twitter.com/drsimonegold/status/1827693563070857484?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 25, 2024</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p>Unsurprisingly, leftist media came to the defense of the French authorities and attempted to disregard the concerns of Durov’s intimidation by the Macron administration over freedom of speech. <em>Le Monde</em> wrote on Monday (August 26) that Durov&#8217;s arrest is actually a “defense of the rule of law” and not an assault on free speech.</p>



<p>In the wake of Durov’s arrest in France, the CEO of the free-speech video-sharing platform Runble, Chris Pavlovski, fled Europe. As reported by <em>Cointelegraph</em>, Pavlovski was cited off his X post commenting on Durvo’s arrest with the news of a quick departure from Europe:</p>



<p><em>“I’m a little late to this, but for good reason — I’ve just safely departed from Europe… Rumble will not stand for this behavior and will use every legal means available to fight for freedom of expression, a universal human right. We are currently fighting in the courts of France, and we hope for Pavel Durov’s immediate release.”</em></p>



<p>Elon Musk reposted Pavlovski’s tweet while also sharing a short clip from Tucker Carlson’s interview with Durvo in which the Telegram CEO told that U.S. security agencies including the FBI kept tabs on his team when they visited America. Durov told that the US agencies tried to hire one of his engineers to let them provide the tools that would give the US government backdoor access to Telegram.</p>



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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="zxx" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/Q0Og7KkWES">pic.twitter.com/Q0Og7KkWES</a></p>&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1827650575393067183?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 25, 2024</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p>Many conservatives, commenting on the posts condemning Durov’s arrest, also expressed concern for the safety of Elon Musk and wrote that Musk could be their next target, some even suggesting that Musk should refrain from traveling to Europe for now.</p>



<p>Soon after the news of Durvo’s arrest broke on Saturday, Mike Benz, the founder and Executive Director of the Foundation for Freedom Online, posted his own video commentary on social media and shared that he believed the U.S. State Department was behind this affair and more.</p>



<p><a href="https://www.bitchute.com/video/zpPVt5Mc1L8G">https://www.bitchute.com/video/zpPVt5Mc1L8G</a></p>

Telegram CEO’s Arrest in France Sparks Backlash and Suspicion
