Russia and the world react to Pavel Durov's arrest: Why is Zuckerberg free?

The Russian Embassy in France immediately took necessary steps to clarify the situation around Durov. There was no appeal from Durov's representatives to the embassy, TASS said with reference to the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Photo: flickr.com by Yuri Samoilov, CC BY 2.0

State Duma Deputy Vladislav Davankov:

"We need to help him out. I called on Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to make an appeal to the French authorities to release Pavel Durov from custody."

State Duma Deputy Aleksei Pushkov:

"A liberal dictatorship does not tolerate individuals who do not play by its rules."

Senator Andrei Klishas:

"The French continue their fight for "freedom of speech" and "European values.""

Permanent Representative of Russia to the International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov:

"Some naive people still do not understand that if they play a more or less noticeable role in international media space, it is not safe for them to visit countries that are moving toward a much more totalitarian society.”

American journalist Tucker Carlson:

"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, that locked him away. Pavel Durov sits in a French jail tonight, a living warning to any platform owner who refuses to censor the truth at the behest of governments and intel agencies. Darkness is descending fast on the formerly free world.”

Elon Musk:

"POV: It's 2030 in Europe and you're being executed for liking a meme."

Head of the Safe Internet League Ekaterina Mizulina:

"It is unclear why, with such laws and for the same reasons, Zuckerberg is still not behind bars, while a platform with Russian roots is under attack.”

Opposition activist Ilya Yashin:

"Some kind of shady story with the arrest of Pavel Durov."

In 2021, Pavel Durov received French citizenship. He will thus be tried as a French citizen, not as a foreigner. He may face up to 20 years in prison.

According to TV channels, Durov specifically avoided France and other European countries during his travels where security forces could have claims against Telegram.

Toncoin showed the largest daily drop among all cryptocurrencies (by more than 18 percent) amid information about Durov's detention, CoinMarketCap said.

Former US NSA employee Edward Snowden:

"The detention of Durov is an attack on basic human rights, freedom of speech and associations. I am surprised and deeply saddened that Macron has stooped to the level of hostage-taking as a tool to gain access to private communications. This is humiliating not only for France, but for the entire world."

Russia sent a note demanding access to Pavel Durov, but Paris perceives his French citizenship as the main one, Russian Foreign Ministry representative Maria Zakharova said, RIA Novosti reports.

The French side "is still avoiding interaction” on the situation with Pavel Durov, the Russian Embassy in France said:

"After the news about the detention of P. V. Durov appeared in the media, we immediately asked the French authorities to explain the reasons and demanded that his rights be protected and that consular access be granted. As of today, the French side is still avoiding interaction on this issue. We are in contact with P. V. Durov's lawyer.”

The Paris prosecutor's office plans to release a statement to the press in connection with the arrest of Pavel Durov tomorrow, August 26, TASS reports citing the prosecutor's office.