"The irony is that I was arrested because of a mistake by the French police themselves: until August 2024, they ignored French and EU laws and did not send their requests to Telegram through the required legal procedure," he said.

Durov stressed that a year later, the investigation could not reveal the guilt of the businessman and Telegram. "Our moderation practices comply with industry standards, and Telegram has always responded to all legally binding requests from France," he said.

According to Durov, the only result of his detention is damage to the image of France as a free country. He also said that a year after his arrest, he is forced to return to France every 14 days, while the date of the appeal has not yet been set.

On August 24 last year, Durov was detained at Le Bourget airport in Paris on a number of charges, including complicity in the administration of a network platform in order to commit illegal transactions as part of a criminal group. Such an offense, according to the Paris prosecutor's office, can be punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of 500,000 euros. By the decision of the investigating judge, the businessman was placed under judicial control with an obligation to pay a bail of 5 million euros. He was also ordered to report to the police station twice a week and was forbidden to leave France.

In mid-June, the French authorities relaxed the conditions of judicial control over Durov, allowing him to leave the territory of the republic on July 10. oxu.az.