Latest news with #ParisAppealsCourt
New Straits Times
4 hours ago
- Politics
- New Straits Times
Telegram founder grilled over alleged illegal content on app
PARIS: Telegram founder Pavel Durov was questioned by investigating magistrates here on Monday about the platform's alleged complicity in criminal activity, said sources close to the case. Durov, 40, was detained in the French capital last year and is under investigation by its authorities over illegal content on his messaging service. Arriving at the Paris courthouse on Monday with four of his lawyers, the Russian-born entrepreneur faced his third round of questioning since being charged with multiple infractions linked to enabling organised crime. Durov, who holds French and Russian passports, has been accused of complicity in running an online platform that allowed illicit transactions, child sex abuse images and other illegal content. He denied the claims, and his lawyers said in a statement Monday's full-day session allowed Durov "to provide additional explanations demonstrating the inanity of the facts that are the subject of the investigation". In his initial questioning last December, Durov denied creating Telegram for illicit use but acknowledged a growing criminal presence on the platform, and pledged to strengthen moderation. French judicial authorities had noted an improvement in cooperation with Telegram since Durov's arrest, said sources involved in organised crime cases. Durov, who was initially banned from leaving France, had his judicial control relaxed early this month, allowing him to reside in the United Arab Emirates for two weeks at a time. His lawyers have filed motions to dismiss the charges with the Paris Appeals Court, according to a source close to the case. "We contest the legality of our client's indictment and the numerous investigative acts carried out in defiance of domestic and European law," they said on Monday. The lawyers have also filed a legal challenge in France to test the constitutionality of the case, along with a request for a preliminary ruling from the European Union's top court, according to the same source.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Telegram's Durov questioned in France over alleged illegal content on app
Telegram founder Pavel Durov faced questioning by investigating magistrates in Paris on Monday about the platform's alleged complicity in criminal activity, sources close to the case 40, was sensationally detained in Paris in 2024 and is under formal investigation by French authorities over illegal content on his popular messaging at the Paris courthouse on Monday morning, the Russian-born entrepreneur faced his third round of questioning since being charged with multiple infractions linked to enabling organised who holds French and Russian passports, has been accused of complicity in running an online platform that allowed illicit transactions, child sex abuse images and other illegal has denied the claims, and neither he nor his lawyers responded to a request for his initial questioning in December 2024, Durov denied creating Telegram for illicit use but acknowledged a growing criminal presence on the platform, and pledged to strengthen judicial authorities have noted an improvement in cooperation with Telegram since Durov's arrest, sources involved in organised crime cases told who was initially banned from leaving France, had his judicial control relaxed from early July, allowing him to reside in the United Arab Emirates for a maximum of two weeks at a lawyers have filed motions to dismiss the charges with the Paris Appeals Court, according to a source close to the lawyers have also filed a legal challenge in France to test the constitutionality of the case, along with a request for a preliminary ruling from the European Union's top court, according to the same source.
Russia Today
5 days ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
Candace Owens responds to Macrons' lawsuit over transgender allegations
American commentator Candace Owens has vowed to fight a defamation lawsuit filed by French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte, after the conservative Youtuber repeatedly claimed the first lady was transgender. The lawsuit, filed earlier this week in a US court, accuses Owens of spreading 'false and defamatory claims' - including that Brigitte Macron was born male, that the couple are blood relatives, and that Emmanuel Macron is a product of a CIA mind control program. According to the filing, the allegations were made 'to promote her independent platform, gain notoriety, and make money,' and amounted to 'relentless bullying on a worldwide scale.' In a video posted to her YouTube channel on Wednesday, Owens shared a message intended for Brigitte Macron with her 4.5 million subscribers: 'You were born a man and you'll die a man,' adding that she is 'fully prepared to take on this battle on behalf of the entire world' and that she will see the French president's spouse in court. The Macrons filed a 219-page lawsuit in the US state of Delaware earlier in the day, alleging 22 counts of defamation against Owens. The complaint includes 99 pages of factual claims and evidence such as Brigitte Macron's childhood photos, birth records, and documentation of her three children with her first husband. The document says Owens has turned the couple's life 'into fodder for profit-driven lies.' Suing the podcaster was 'the last resort,' as she ignored all requests to stop her activities, Macron's lead counsel Tom Clare told CNN. Owens has repeatedly attacked Mrs. Macron on social media. In 2024, she posted a video titled 'Is France's First Lady a Man?' Earlier this year, she shared an investigation called 'Becoming Brigitte.' The rumors about Brigitte date back to 2021, when Amandine Roy and Natacha Rey posted a four-hour video alleging she was born a man. However, this July, the Paris Appeals Court overturned the fines put on the bloggers following Mrs. Macron's 2022 lawsuit. The court ruled out the women acted in 'good faith' and that their allegations were an expression of belief.
L'Orient-Le Jour
18-07-2025
- Politics
- L'Orient-Le Jour
France court orders release of Lebanese militant after 40 years in jail
A French appeals court Thursday ordered the release of pro-Palestinian Lebanese militant Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, imprisoned for 40 years for the 1982 killings of two foreign diplomats. Abdallah, 74, is one of the longest-serving prisoners in France, where most convicts on life sentences are freed after less than 30 years. He has been up for release for 25 years, but the United States, a civil party to the case, has consistently opposed his release. Abdallah was detained in 1984 and sentenced to life in prison in 1987 for his involvement in the murders of U.S. military attache Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov in Paris. Lebanese of Maronite Christian heritage, he has always insisted he is not a "criminal" but a "fighter" for the rights of Palestinians, whom he said were targeted, along with Lebanon, by the United States and Israel. The Paris Appeals Court ordered that he be freed from a prison in the south of France on July 25, on condition that he leave French territory and never return. It stated that the length of his detention had been "disproportionate" and that he no longer posed a danger to the public. On Thursday, Abdallah told left-wing deputy Andree Taurinya, who visited him in prison, that his liberation was the result of efforts by his supporters. "The fact that they agreed to free me is thanks to this growing mobilisation," he told the MP, in the presence of an AFP reporter. Several sources reported that he was to be flown to Paris and then to Beirut. Prosecutors can file an appeal with France's highest court, but any such request is not expected to be processed fast enough to halt his release next week. 'Delighted' The detainee's brother, Robert Abdallah, in Lebanon, told AFP he was overjoyed. "We're delighted. I didn't expect the French judiciary to make such a decision, nor for him to ever be freed, especially after so many failed requests for release," he said. "For once, the French authorities have freed themselves from Israeli and U.S. pressure," he added. Lebanese authorities have repeatedly stated that Abdallah should be released from jail and have written to the appeals court to say they would organize his return home. Abdallah's lawyer, Jean-Louis Chalanset, also welcomed the decision, calling it a "political scandal " that Abdallah was not released earlier. Israel's embassy in Paris, meanwhile, released a statement saying it regretted the decision to release Abdallah. "Such terrorists, enemies of the free world, should spend their lives in prison," it said. Lebanon's charge d'affaires in Paris, Ziad Taan, told AFP that the country was "extremely satisfied" with the decision, adding that Abdallah would be "welcome" in Lebanon. In November last year, a French court ordered Abdallah to be released on condition that he leave France. But France's anti-terror prosecutors, arguing that he had not changed his political views, appealed the decision, which was suspended. A verdict was supposed to have been delivered in February, but the Paris appeals court postponed it over compensation payments. 'Past symbol' The court re-examined the latest request for his release last month. During the closed-door hearing, Abdallah's lawyer informed the judges that 16,000 euros had been deposited into the prisoner's bank account, at the disposal of civil parties in the case, including the United States, according to several sources who attended. Abdallah was wounded as a teenager when Israel invaded Lebanon in 1978 in the early years of the country's civil war. As an adult, he founded the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions (LARF), a Marxist pro-Syria and anti-Israel group that has now been dissolved. After his arrest in 1984, French police discovered submachine guns and transceiver stations in one of his Paris apartments. The appeals court in February, however, noted that the FARL "had not committed a violent action since 1984" and that Abdallah "today represented a past symbol of the Palestinian struggle." Lebanon hosts tens of thousands of Palestinians, according to the United Nations, most descendants of those who fled or were expelled from their land during the creation of Israel in 1948.
Business Recorder
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Business Recorder
France court orders release of Georges Ibrahim after 40 years in jail
PARIS: A French appeals court Thursday ordered the release of pro-Palestinian Lebanese militant Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, imprisoned for 40 years for the 1982 killings of two foreign diplomats. Abdallah, 74, is one of the longest-serving prisoners in France, where most convicts on life sentences are freed after less than 30 years. He has been up for release for 25 years, but the United States — a civil party to the case — has consistently opposed him leaving prison. Abdallah was detained in 1984 and sentenced to life in prison in 1987 for his involvement in the murders of US military attache Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov in Paris. Lebanese of Maronite Christian heritage, he has always insisted he is not a 'criminal' but a 'fighter' for the rights of Palestinians, whom he said were targeted, along with Lebanon, by the United States and Israel. The Paris Appeals Court ordered he be freed from a prison in the south of France on July 25, on condition that he leave French territory and never return.
