Telegram founder Pavel Durov finally broke his silence since his high-profile arrest in France in August.

In a message broadcast to his public Telegram channel, the tech entrepreneur said he was surprised that French authorities arrested him . He said Telegram has an official representative in the European Union who handles all regulatory requests and law enforcement inquiries.

Durov, a French citizen, also stated that the French authorities had multiple avenues to reach him without resorting to arresting him and claimed he was a regular guest at the French Consulate in Dubai.

The Telegram founder added that the company is fully prepared to leave jurisdictions that are hostile to Telegram’s purported mission of free speech and expression:

“We are prepared to leave markets that aren’t compatible with our principles because we are not doing this for money. We are driven by the intention to bring good and defend the basic rights of people, particularly in places where these rights are violated.”

Durov was also critical of France’s decision to charge him personally rather than taking action against the company.

Related: Breaking: French President Macron denies inviting Pavel Durov to France

Macron denies arrest was political

Shortly after Durov’s arrest, French President Emmanuel Macron issued a statement claiming it was not political . However, the statement did little to stem the widespread international criticism of French authorities for arresting Durov.

Macron reiterated France’s commitment to freedom of speech and expression, which only drew sharper criticism, with calls to free Durov from The Open Network community and industry executives.

In response to the actions of French authorities, Rumble founder and CEO Chris Pavlovski fled Europe and cautioned others that France was no longer safe for tech founders with a focus on free speech. Once Pavlovski “safely departed” Europe, he issued the following statement to his followers:

“France has threatened Rumble, and now they have crossed a red line by arresting Telegram’s CEO, Pavel Durov, reportedly for not censoring speech.”

The Rumble CEO concluded by emphatically stating that Rumble would use “all available means” to combat these censorship efforts and protect the universal human right to freedom of speech.

In addition to holding a French passport, Telegram CEO Durov is also a citizen of Russia and the United Arab Emirates. Amid the ongoing judicial investigation in France, Durov declined diplomatic assistance from both Russia and the UAE, the American news organization Politico reported on Sept. 5.

“The person concerned refused Russian consular protection and an Emirati consular visit but agreed that the Emirati embassy be kept up to date on his situation,” a French government official reportedly stated.

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