Russia’s embassy in Paris has referred a note to the French foreign ministry demanding consular access to Telegram messenger CEO Pavel Durov who has been arrested in France, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, TASS reports.
"Immediately after learning about his arrest, our embassy in Paris got in touch with the local side having sent a note to the French foreign ministry demanding access to to him," she said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 television channel.
"The problem is <…> that Pavel Durov holds French citizenship. Hence, he is a citizen of their country for Paris, France," she noted.
The LCI television channel reported earlier that Durov had been arrested at Le Bourget Airport late on August 24. He has been placed in custody and may soon be brought to court, the TF1 television channel said. According to TF1 , Durov might be charged with terrorism, drug trafficking, fraud, money laundering and child pornography.
The Russian embassy in Paris said it had demanded that the French authorities observe Durov’s rights but Paris is dodging cooperation on this matter.
