Telegram’s Pavel Durov transferred to French court to face possible charges

Investigating judge ends  Pavel Durov police custody and will have him brought to court, Paris prosecutor’s office says.

Pavel Durov founded Telegram in 2013

Russian-born Telegram boss Pavel Durov has been sent to see a French investigative judge who is due to decide whether to place him under formal investigation after his arrest as part of a probe into organised crime on the social media and messaging app.

Durov’s detention after he landed in Paris on a private jet on Saturday has put the spotlight on the criminal liability of app providers and fuelled debate on where freedom of speech ends and enforcement of the law begins.

“An investigating judge has ended Pavel Durov’s police custody and will have him brought to court for a first appearance and a possible indictment,” a statement from the Paris Prosecutor’s Office said on Wednesday.