In recent years, tensions between global tech entrepreneurs and national governments have escalated, with free speech often caught in the middle. The arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov in Paris is the latest chapter in this ongoing conflict. Durov’s detention, under charges related to his alleged failure to cooperate with French authorities investigating serious crimes committed using Telegram, has sparked widespread debate. Serbian lawmaker Aleksandar Pavic has accused Western governments of using “mafia tactics” to extort encryption codes from Durov, raising concerns about the future of free speech and the role of messaging platforms in modern society.

On what seemed like a routine day, Pavel Durov, the enigmatic founder of Telegram, was arrested upon his arrival at Paris-Le Bourget Airport. The charges against him, as stated by French prosecutors, include potential complicity in drug dealing, money laundering, and facilitating the distribution of child pornography. These charges, if proven, are undeniably serious. However, the broader implications of this arrest have drawn global attention, particularly given Durov’s history of resisting government pressures to compromise Telegram’s encryption.

Aleksandar Pavic, a Serbian parliamentarian, has not minced words in his criticism of the French authorities. In an interview with RT, Pavic described the arrest as an attempt to force Durov into handing over Telegram’s encryption keys—a move that would allow governments to censor and monitor communications on the platform. Pavic likened these tactics to those of a mafia, suggesting that the West is resorting to underhanded methods to gain control over one of the few........

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