On Telegram, Russian pro-war channels are still dissecting the latest information on the arrest of Pavel Durov. Ever since the founder and boss of Russia's most widely used messaging platform, particularly in defense circles, was arrested in Paris on the evening of Saturday, August 24, so-called military experts and "war correspondents" have come to his defense. One after another, they have called for his release, promoting sites selling "#freedurov" T-shirts and publishing a photo of a shell which, bearing his name in black letters, was obviously intended for the enemy in the West.
On August 26, these "Z" channels − a letter symbolizing support for the Kremlin's "special military operation" in Ukraine − had to focus on the news of the day, the massive Russian attacks across the neighboring country. But statements from Paris that evening by French prosecutor Laure Beccuau quickly set the pro-war all-Telegram abuzz: "Durov accused of 12 crimes," promptly headlined Operation Z, a channel of "volunteers and correspondents from the 'Russian Spring.'" This was a radical way of presenting the statement by the public prosecutor: Durov, whose police custody has been extended until August 28, is suspected of "laundering crimes or misdemeanors in an organized gang," as well as "refusal to communicate, at the request of the authorized authorities, the information or documents required to carry out and exploit the interceptions authorized by law."
Whatever the suspicions hanging over the 39-year-old French-Russian billionaire in France and elsewhere in the world, Russian networks are abuzz with rumors. According to those rumors, Paris is said to be acting under orders from Washington in the run-up to the US presidential election in November, in order to bring Telegram, which is popular across the Atlantic, under control; Paris is also said to be worried about Durov's links with Azerbaijan, where he had just spent a few days and where, according to a rumor denied by the Kremlin, he even met Russian President Vladimir Putin; according to another rumor, Paris allegedly has genuine personal grievances against the Telegram founder. Whatever the version, the conclusion remains the same: "Freedom of expression is being suppressed in Europe." "We live in a world where George Orwell's ideas have completely triumphed," lamented Boris Rojine on Colonelcassad, one of Telegram's most popular military channels.
Putin made no public comment. His spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, clearly lacking information from Paris, initially tried to delay. "We do not know concretely what Durov is accused of. Before saying anything, we need to wait for the situation to become clearer (...). Without that, it would probably be inappropriate to make any statements whatsoever," stated Peskov on Monday. As a result, pro-Kremlin television and media outlets were less aggressive in their coverage of Durov.
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