French government was not involved – POLITICO

President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that the French government was not involved in the arrest of Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov.

“The arrest of Telegram’s president on French territory took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation. This is in no way a political decision. It is up to the judges to decide,” Macron said.

Durov was detained Saturday night after his private jet arrived in Paris. The Paris prosecutor has not yet communicated the reasons for the arrest of Durov, who founded the messaging app in 2013.

In a statement, Telegram said that its CEO — a Russian-born French-Emirati citizen — had “nothing to hide” and that the company abided by EU law.

This story is being updated.