A Paris court judge extended the detention of Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov by 48 hours. Kommersant writes about this with reference to the French publications La Provence and AFP.
Image source: Pavel Durov
Thus, Durov’s period of detention has increased to 96 hours, after which he will either be charged or released. It is noted that in particularly severe cases, when the charge is related to drug trafficking or terrorism, detention can be extended to 120 or 144 hours. After this, even if the judge decides to release the detainee, up to 20 more hours of detention in the premises of the criminal police can be added if the accused is required to be brought to court.
Let us remind you that Pavel Durov has French citizenship. He was detained at Paris airport on the evening of August 24. According to local media reports, the reason for the arrest was the lack of moderation in the Telegram messenger and unwillingness to cooperate with the authorities. Because of this, the founder of the platform may be considered involved in various crimes, including those related to terrorism, fraud and drug trafficking. The Paris prosecutor’s office promised to give an official comment on this issue on August 26.