Conflict Photographer https://xitter.cf/t.co/zDSmIMKvd8
Dubai, UAE & Dnipro, Ukraine
Joined August 2009
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I tried to enter Georgia (the country, not the state) to photograph the election. I’m an @IFJGlobal accredited journalist. On arrival my passport had clearly been flagged. They took it, I waited for 1.5h and then got paperwork saying I was denied entry and was being deported.
Forgot to add in my sleep deprived state, they took away my phone for the whole time as soon as they put me into holding and didn’t return it until right before boarding the deportation flight to Dubai. I landed safe and sound though!
Durov’s Arrest and the potential civilian impact: Durov was effectively the head of communications for the Russian invasion army. But not just them, also for the Russian propagandists, politicians, oligarchs as well as the paid and unpaid friends of Russia all over the world.
Its basically guaranteed that the usual pro-Kremlin voices will be extremely focused on calling this an anti-privacy crackdown which is ludicrous given that TG never provided privacy to begin with and made decisions that actively let them monitor the communications.
Don’t fall for TG’s privacy marketing. There are plenty actually private options available like @signalapp. Those apps are banned in Russia, the supposed haven of free speech, while Telegram isn’t just allowed, it’s the main comms for Oligarchs and the Russian military.
Stephan Goss retweeted
If Macron wants the Russian army to be destroyed in a week, he could merely hand Telegram's keys to Ukraine.
Geopolitical context for the Durov arrest: Much of the Russian army’s communications in Ukraine run via Telegram. So Durov effectively runs comms for the Russian army. This could be one of the largest intelligence wins ever if Ukraine gets access to the Telegram data.
Even more suspiciously, the Russian consulate has requested access to Durov, who not only is a French citizen, he is no longer a Russian citizen.