The Telegram founder is currently banned from leaving France and must report to law enforcement every week.
Telegram founder Pavel Durov has finally broken his silence since his high-profile arrest in France in August.
In a message posted on his public Telegram channel, the tech entrepreneur expressed his surprise at his arrest by French authorities. He clarified that Telegram has an official representative in the European Union who handles all regulatory requests and law enforcement investigations.
Durov, a French citizen, also said that French authorities had several ways to reach him without resorting to arrest and claimed that he was a regular guest at the French consulate in Dubai.
Telegram's founder added that the company is fully prepared to leave jurisdictions hostile to Telegram's stated mission of free speech:
"We are willing to exit markets that are not compatible with our principles because we are not in this for the money. We are motivated by the intention to do good and to defend the fundamental rights of people, particularly in places where these rights are violated."
Durov also criticized France's decision to prosecute him personally instead of taking action against the company.
Shortly after Durov’s arrest, French President Emmanuel Macron issued a statement saying it was not a political act. However, the statement did little to stem widespread international criticism of French authorities for Mr Durov’s arrest.
Macron reiterated France's commitment to freedom of speech and expression, which only fueled criticism, with calls for Durov's release from The Open Network community and industry executives.
In response to the actions of French authorities, Rumble founder and CEO Chris Pavlovski fled Europe and warned others that France was no longer safe for tech founders who emphasize free speech. After safely leaving Europe, Pavlovski released the following statement to his supporters:
“France threatened Rumble, and now it has crossed a red line by arresting Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, apparently for failing to censor certain speech.”
Rumble's CEO concluded by stating categorically that Rumble would use "all means available" to combat these censorship efforts and protect the universal right to free speech.
In addition to holding a French passport, Telegram CEO Durov is also a citizen of Russia and the United Arab Emirates. Amid the ongoing judicial investigation in France, Durov has refused consular assistance from Russia and the UAE, U.S. news organization Politico reported on September 5.
"The person concerned refused Russian consular protection and an Emirati consular visit, but agreed that the Emirati embassy be kept informed of his situation," a French government official reportedly said.
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