Pavel Durov says he is already being punished without being tried by French authorities

Telegram founder Pavel Durov has finally opened up about his complicated relationship with governments, particularly France, in an interview with a French news outlet. Durov’s comments come after his high-profile arrest in France amidst scrutiny of Telegram’s moderation policies.

Pavel Durov was arrested in France and is facing charges that are both explosive and controversial. These charges include helping with drug trafficking, money laundering, and organized fraud, among other things. He denounced a plot and a lack of justice, saying they have already been punished without being tried.

According to Durov,  just because criminals use Telegram doesn’t mean that those who run it are criminals.  He said, “Nothing has ever been proven showing that I am, even for a second, guilty of anything. But it seems I’m already being punished at this stage through the ban on leaving the territory.”

The case has affected Telegram and his family – Durov 

Pavel Durov denied French authorities’ accusations that Telegram refused to cooperate. He said that his team showed them how to proceed and submitted all the documents requested from them. 

He explained that he met with the judge handling his case in December 2024 and February 2025. He has another appointment coming up in July. He said, “But it’s crazy… I understand that things take time. But why do I have to stay in France while waiting?”

Pavel Durov said that the first days in custody were difficult because he was interrogated relentlessly in the judicial customs premises. For four days, he said that he answered all questions and slept on a mat not thicker than a yoga mat without a pillow.

He explained his frustrations, saying that his parents have very serious health problems, and, statistically, they only have a few years left to live. Not only has it affected his family, but Telegram too. He said that he was supposed to speak at the Oslo Freedom Forum, which took place last May. 

Durov criticizes the EU’s regulations

He also touched on his relationship with Emmanuel Macron. He said that Macron could send him messages on Telegram on all sorts of subjects for a long time. However,  the last time was the day of my statement about the Romanian elections and the DGSE. He said, “I didn’t answer him […]  I prefer to die rather than act against my values and betray my users.”

Durov also criticized the EU’s Digital Services Act for enabling political censorship under the guise of consumer safety.

Pavel Durov says that he has no business in Russia or with Putin

When asked about Russia and Putin, he said he only met a high-ranking Russian official once, in 2013. Back then, he was the head of VKontakte, the “Russian Facebook.” He said, “ I had refused to provide information about regime opponents. The meeting didn’t last more than fifteen minutes.”

He said that a high-ranking Russian official insisted that, in his opinion, social networks should be government tools. However, he chose to sell his shares in the company and leave the country. 

He also said that Telegram processes reports from Russia and other countries to remove manifestly illegal content (like public announcements for selling illegal drugs). However, his company has never satisfied political censorship or persecution requests. 

He added, “I will never give my opinion on a geopolitical conflict, because it would immediately be interpreted as support for one of the two camps, which a neutral platform must not do if it wants to remain an impartial arbiter applying the same rules to everyone. But I will always fight for fair access to free and independent information. Once you legitimize censorship, it’s difficult to go back.”

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