OREANDA-NEWS Andrei Svintsov, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technologies and Communications, responded to the words of French President Emmanuel Macron that the detention of Telegram founder Pavel Durov was not motivated by political reasons. In a conversation with Lenta.The deputy disagreed with the words of the French leader, stressing that, in his opinion, the political component in this arrest is obvious.

Earlier, Macron commented on Durov's arrest for the first time, stressing that, in his opinion, detention is not a political decision.

"When it is finally clear what charges Durov has been charged with, it will be possible to talk about how much the political aspect is primary or secondary. The fact that there is politics in Durov's arrest is recognized in any country in the world, and not only politicians, but also economists, programmers — absolutely everything. Everyone understands that Durov alone owns a colossal media resource, a billion people are in his messenger. (...) This is a colossal political and economic resource," Svintsov explained, stressing that, in his opinion, the "element of a political order" in the arrest of the Telegram founder is "unequivocally present."

The fact that Macron says there is no political background here is quite possible. Macron was simply not informed by the people who made the decision to arrest him.

On Monday, August 26, it became known that the French court extended Durov's detention after his detention at the Paris airport. It is known that the maximum possible period of time before the interrogation may be no more than 96 hours. However, on Monday, August 26, the meetings related to the Durov case were not scheduled in the Paris court.

Pavel Durov was detained on the evening of August 24 at Le Bourget airport in Paris upon arrival from Azerbaijan. According to the French judicial authorities, he is an accomplice to illegal actions carried out through Telegram. Durov is currently in custody and faces up to 20 years in prison.