Telegram founder banned by French court from attending Oslo Freedom Forum in Norway

According to ChainCatcher, as reported by Cointelegraph, Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov was originally scheduled to attend the Oslo Freedom Forum in Oslo, Norway, but a French court has rejected his request to leave the country. The event organizer, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF), stated that Durov will deliver the keynote speech via live stream.

Durov had previously publicly accused the head of the French intelligence agency, Nicolas Lerner, of asking him to block conservative political content before the Romanian presidential election, which Durov refused to comply with, calling the move "undermining democracy in the name of democracy."

He emphasized that Telegram will not censor political speech in any market and stated that if faced with pressure for forced censorship, they would choose to exit the relevant market. He said, "We did not block protesters in Russia, Belarus, or Iran, and we will not do so in Europe either."