WSJ: Russian officials see Pavel Durov's arrest as an indirect hostile act against the country

Odaily News Russian officials have expressed "anger" over the arrest of Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov in France on Saturday, WSJ reports. The Russian Embassy in France issued a statement early Sunday saying French authorities had rejected its attempts to reach Durov. "As soon as the news of Durov's detention appeared in the media, we immediately asked the French authorities to clarify the reasons and asked them to ensure the protection of Durov's rights and provide consular access. As of today, the French side has been evasive on this issue. We are in contact with Durov's lawyers," a translated version of the statement read. Some Russian officials have called the arrest an indirect hostile act against Russia. There are reports that Durov has dual French and Russian citizenship, as well as reports that he has dual French and UAE citizenship. According to National Public Radio (NPR), the Paris prosecutor's office said French officials are expected to respond to the arrest in a statement on Monday. Telegram also issued its first statement on the arrest that day, saying: "Telegram complies with EU laws, including the Digital Services Act," and "Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe." Although some news media said Durov could face 20 years in prison, the initial French media reports did not mention this number. After Durov's arrest, many important figures in the crypto industry expressed their support for him, including X platform owner Elon Musk, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin (who pointed out that his views are based on the information available so far), TRON founder Justin Sun, Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko, etc. (The Block)