BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday defended his decision to grant special fast-track citizenship to CEO of Telegram messaging app Pavel Durovwho is now under preliminary charges in France for alleged criminal activities on his popular platform.
Macron also said he did not know Durov would come to France before his surprise arrest last weekend, and that he had no plans to meet him.
Freedom of speech advocates, far-right figures and authoritarian governments around the world have come out in Durov’s defense and criticized French authorities in the case. Durov was released on bail of 5 million euros but he was banned from leaving France and had to report to the police station twice a week pending further investigation.
French prosecutors accuse Durov of complicity in drug trafficking and sharing sexual images of children on Telegram, and have refused to cooperate with authorities’ investigation into illegal activities on the app.
Durov’s lawyer David-Olivier Kaminski told French media: “It is completely absurd to think that the person responsible for a social network could be involved in criminal acts that do not concern him, directly or indirectly.”
The case has highlighted the challenges of combating illegal online activity, and the Russian-born Durov. unusual biography and multiple passports.
Speaking at a news conference during a visit to Serbia, Macron said France supports freedom of expression and the freedom of entrepreneurs. He said approving Durov’s application for French citizenship — like famous sports stars, artists and others who contribute to France’s prosperity and learn French — was “good for our country.”
He also mentioned Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel, who, like Durov, obtained French citizenship not through the usual difficult and bureaucratic procedure, but through a special procedure for “deserving foreigners.”
According to the French satirical investigative magazine Le Canard Enchaine, Durov told police upon his arrest on Saturday that he planned to meet Macron.
Macron denied that. “I was absolutely not aware of Mr. Durov’s arrival in France,” Macron said. “It is not true that I invited him in any way.”
His arrest was ”an independent act of French justice,” he added.
