Maduro declares Durov`s detention embodying persecution of alternative viewpoints
Date
8/28/2024 8:16:02 AM
(MENAFN) Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has asserted that the recent arrest of Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov in France is part of a broader strategy to exert maximum pressure on alternative media platforms. Speaking at the 11th summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) on Monday, Maduro condemned what he described as a global trend of persecuting and controlling independent communication networks.
Maduro’s remarks came during a live broadcast of the ALBA summit on Telegram, the very platform whose founder has been detained. He characterized Durov’s arrest as indicative of a widespread policy aimed at silencing alternative viewpoints through intimidation and coercion. According to Maduro, such actions reflect an abuse of power designed to subjugate independent media voices around the world.
Durov was detained at Paris-Le Bourget Airport last Saturday upon his arrival from Azerbaijan via private jet. The French judicial authorities have extended his detention twice, citing a broad criminal inquiry involving an unnamed individual. The Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office has indicated that the arrest is part of an ongoing judicial investigation, though specific charges have not been publicly detailed.
French President Emmanuel Macron has denied any political motivations behind Durov’s detention, emphasizing that it is solely related to legal proceedings. Macron reiterated that the arrest is part of a routine judicial process and not influenced by external pressures.
Previously, Durov had claimed that his staunch commitment to user privacy made him a target for various intelligence agencies. In an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson earlier this year, Durov revealed that he had faced pressure from Washington to compromise Telegram’s privacy policies by sharing user data or creating surveillance "backdoors" into the platform.
Maduro’s comments highlight the broader concerns about the international crackdown on alternative media and the ways in which governments may use legal and political pressures to control or eliminate dissenting voices.
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