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[global network report] according to afp, reuters and other media reports, pavel durov, the founder and ceo of the social media "telegram" who was previously arrested in france, published a long article on "telegram" in the early hours of friday (6th) local time, criticizing france's arrest of him as "unexpected" and "wrong". afp said that as a "mysterious figure", durov rarely speaks in public, and this latest statement is his first public voice since his arrest last month.

durov profile picture source: foreign media

agence france-presse reported that in the post, durov said he was "surprised" to be responsible for the content posted by others on telegram. according to reuters, durov believed that if the french government found a problem, it should have complained to his company, through the "hotline" he helped to establish, or contact telegram's representative to the european union.

"it is a mistake to use laws that predate the smartphone era to charge a ceo with crimes committed by third parties on a platform he manages," durov wrote.

according to reuters, durov said that the telegram platform is not perfect, and also denied the claim that the platform is an "anarchist paradise." "but some media claim that telegram is some kind of anarchist paradise, which is absolutely not true." he wrote, "we delete millions of harmful posts and channels every day."

afp noted that durov took a "more conciliatory tone" at the end of his post, saying the surge in the number of telegram users was "causing more and more pain" and making it easier for criminals to abuse the platform.

"i hope that the events of august will make telegram - and the entire social networking industry - safer and stronger," durov said.

according to a previous report by xinhua news agency, french bfmtv news information station said that durov was arrested by french police at le bourget airport in the suburbs of paris on the evening of august 24 and was detained for 96 hours. on the 28th of the same month, durov was transferred to the paris court after his detention ended. after two investigating judges interrogated him for several hours, they decided to bring multiple charges against him. also on the 28th, the paris prosecutor's office in france announced that durov was prosecuted after his detention ended that day. he was released on bail under judicial supervision, but was not allowed to leave france. paris prosecutor lore betquiaud said in a press release that durov was prosecuted on the evening of the 28th and was released on bail under judicial supervision, but had to pay a deposit of 5 million euros, report to the police station twice a week, and was prohibited from leaving french territory.

according to previous reports by french media, the relevant french government departments are investigating illegal activities on the telegram platform, including fraud, drug trafficking, organized crime, child pornography, and the promotion of terrorism. durov was accused of not taking corresponding measures to prevent these crimes. the paris prosecutor's office issued a press release on august 26, saying that the paris prosecutor's office began a judicial investigation on july 8 this year, which included 12 charges and was not aimed at specific people, and durov was arrested for this.

according to reports, durov was born in russia and is now 39 years old. he and his brother nikolay founded telegram in st. petersburg, russia in 2013. durov later moved the headquarters of telegram to dubai, united arab emirates. durov holds multiple nationalities including russian, french, and uae. the social media telegram currently has about 900 million users and is one of the most important social media platforms in the russian-speaking region. it is also an important platform for both russia and ukraine to speak out during the ukrainian crisis.