MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian lawmaker Maria Butina said on Sunday the arrest of Pavel Durov, the Russian-born billionaire founder and owner of Telegram, was part of a witch hunt and meant freedom of speech was “dead” in Europe.
“Pavel Durov is a political prisoner and the victim of a witch hunt by the West,” Butina told Reuters.
“The arrest of Pavel Durov means there is no freedom of speech. It means the death of freedom of speech in Europe.”
Butina, who served 15 months in a U.S. prison for acting as an unregistered Russian agent and is now a member of the ruling United Russia party, said she believed Durov's arrest was the result of an attempt by Western countries to take control of Telegram.
“They're basically trying to hold hostages and blackmail Russia. Not only will they try to blackmail and take control of all Telegram users, but they'll also try to block the network inside Russia,” she said.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
