Telegram CEO arrest marks "solemn funeral of freedom of speech" in West: Russian expert

The arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov marks "a solemn funeral of the so-called freedom of speech in the West," said an Russian expert on Tuesday.

Russian-born Durov, founder and owner of the Telegram messaging app, was arrested in France late on Saturday.

According to Paris Public Prosecutor Laure Beccuau, the Telegram founder and CEO is accused of 12 criminal offenses, including failing to take action against Telegram users involved in cyberbullying, sharing pedophilic content, and the glorification of terrorism. Beccuau said the arrest came "in the context of a judicial investigation opened on July 8, 2024."

The Associated Press reported that Durov, who was born in Russia, is a citizen of France, Russia, the Caribbean island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis, and the United Arab Emirates.

"I want to point out that for Durov, the 'ceremonious granting' of the French citizenship to him is an aggravating circumstance, because France said that the prosecutor focused on his French citizenship in dispute with the Russian Foreign Ministry. And therefore, the issue of his potential extradition, naturally, is not on the agenda, at least for now," said Evgeny Semibratov, deputy head of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Predictions under the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (RUDN).

Tech giant and owner of the U.S. social media platform X Elon Musk, along with former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, condemned the arrest on Sunday, citing a violation of the freedom of speech.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on X that the arrest of Durov was "in no way a political decision."

"Let me put it this way: we have witnessed a solemn funeral of the so-called freedom of speech in the West. Against this backdrop of a solemn funeral for freedom of speech, we have seen another important reality of our times: the West's so-called concept of 'good Russian' doesn't fit any more. Durov refused to cooperate with the Russian authorities in 2018 to 2019, and criticized Russian authorities in posts on social media, which was believed by the West to be trying to do a good thing for the whole world," said Semibratov.

Telegram CEO arrest marks "solemn funeral of freedom of speech" in West: Russian expert

Telegram CEO arrest marks "solemn funeral of freedom of speech" in West: Russian expert

The onshore Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened to below 7.10 against the U.S. dollar in August.

In August, the weighted average rate on new corporate loans registered around 3.6 percent, a decline of over 0.2 percentage points from an already relatively low benchmark in 2023.

This indicates that China has continued to lower the overall financing costs and is encouraging financial institutions to pass on profits to the real economy.

The RMB exchange rate has seen an appreciation. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, has retreated from its peak since August, decreasing from above 104 to below 101, marking a new low in over a year with a decline of about 3 percent.

The onshore RMB exchange rate against the U.S. dollar has strengthened from a high point of 7.27 yuan in mid-July to below 7.10 yuan, a cumulative appreciation of 2 percent.

Cross-border funds continued to flow into the Chinese domestic market, maintaining a net increase trend. In August, overseas investors increased their net holdings of domestic bonds by approximately 17 billion U.S. dollars, marking the 12th consecutive month of net inflows.

Onshore Chinese yuan strengthens against USD in Aug