Kremlin Warns France Against "Political Persecution" Of Telegram Founder

Russia, which has led an unprecedented crackdown on political opponents, has painted Pavel Durov's arrest in Paris as politically motivated.

The Kremlin warned France on Thursday not to turn a criminal case against Telegram founder Pavel Durov into "political persecution."

Russia, which has led an unprecedented crackdown on political opponents during its Ukraine offensive, has painted Durov's surprise arrest in Paris earlier this week as politically motivated.

France has charged Russian-born Durov -- who also has French citizenship -- on several counts of failing to curb extremist and illegal content on the popular social media platform.