Telegram CEO Pavel Durov’s Arrest Upends Kremlin Military Communications
“[Durov’s] arrest may have political grounds and be a tool for gaining access to the personal information of Telegram users,” the Deputy Speaker of the Russian Duma Vladislav Davankov said in a Telegram statement. “This cannot be allowed. If the French authorities refuse to release Pavel Durov from custody, I propose making every effort to move him to the UAE or the Russian Federation. With his consent, of course.” Their worry is that Durov may hand over encryption keys to the French authorities, allowing access to the platform and any communications that users thought was encrypted.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that the arrest of Durov was “in no way a political decision.” The Russian embassy has demanded that it get access to Durov, but the Kremlin has so far not issued a statement on the arrest. “Before saying anything, we should wait for the situation to become clearer,” said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. However, officials and law enforcement agencies were instructed to clear all their communication from Telegram, the pro-Kremlin channel Baza reported. “Everyone who is used to using the platform for sensitive conversations/conversations should delete those conversations right now and not do it again,” Kremlin propagandist Margarita Simonyan said in a Telegram post. “Durov has been shut down to get the keys. And he’s going to give them.”
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