Russia’s Top Internet Censor Says US Ordered Durov Arrest

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Tim Alper

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Tim Alper

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Tim Alper is a British journalist and features writer who has worked at Cryptonews.com since 2018. He has written for media outlets such as the BBC, the Guardian, and Chosun Ilbo. He has also worked...

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August 25, 2024

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Russia’s leading internet censor says that Washington orchestrated the arrest of Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov, and that the US may have been trying to strike a blow against Toncoin (TON).

Durov was arrested on Saturday, August 24 at an airport in France. Media outlets say that the Telegram chief had arrived at the airport on a private jet he boarded in Azerbaijan.

And the head of the Safe Internet League (LBI) Yekaterina Mizulina took to Telegram to claim that the arrest was made “at the request of the United States.”

Durov Arrest Orders Came from Washington, Claims Russian Censor

Mizulina said that she was “not surprised” by Durov’s arrest, and added that she had “long believed that for the owners of Telegram, being outside of Russia is a big risk.”

“[Durov] risked being arrested at any moment – similar situations have happened before at the request of the United States.”

Yekaterina Mizulina, Director, Safe Internet League

However, Mizulina claimed that she had previously thought that Durov had escaped previous arrest attempts “precisely because” he was “probably cooperating with Western intelligence agencies.” She mused:

“Apparently, this was not quite the case – as this latest development demonstrates.”

Mizulina also added that she believed Durov’s detention was an “attempt to strike a blow at the Toncoin cryptocurrency.”

The Russian censor said that this was “the way the US conducts its sanctions policies.”

TON prices have continued to slide on most crypto exchanges since the token’s dramatic fall over the weekend.

Kremlin Says It Has No Idea What Durov Will Be Charged With

The LBI is a government-backed NGO co-created by the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Communications and Mass Media, and the State Duma’s Committee on Family, Women, and Children.

It has powers to censor websites and can block access to content it feels propagates “violence, pedophilia, and extremism.”

Meanwhile, the Kremlin says it has no information about the reasons for Durov’s arrest.

The state-run media outlet TASS quoted the Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov as saying that the Kremlin “has no information about” why Durov was detained in France

“We don’t know yet what exactly Durov has been accused of.”

Dmitry Peskov, Russian Presidential Spokesman

Durov ‘Didn’t Meet Putin in Baku’ – Kremlin

The Kremlin spokesman added that the Kremlin “had not yet heard any official statements on the matter.”

And Peskov also denied there was any truth to media reports that claimed President Vladimir Putin met with Durov during the former’s state visit to Azerbaijan.

Some media outlets have claimed Durov and Putin met in Baku during Putin’s August 18-19 visit.

However, Peskov urged the public not to “draw any conclusions” about the arrest before more information is forthcoming.

“Before we say anything, we need to wait for the situation to become clearer. We need to see what exactly they are trying to incriminate Durov with. Without that information, it would probably be wrong to make any statements on the matter.”

Dmitry Peskov, Russian Presidential Spokesman

Peskov concluded that the Kremlin would “wait until the charges are announced, if they are announced at all.”

After that, the spokesman, said, the Russian government would be able to “make some preliminary conclusions.”