عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

German Stabbing Suspect is 26-year-old Syrian Man

Late in the evening, a man concealed behind police officers turns himself in to the police on the street and claims to be the perpetrator of the attack at a festival in Solingen, Germany, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024. (Christoph Reichwein/dpa via AP)
Late in the evening, a man concealed behind police officers turns himself in to the police on the street and claims to be the perpetrator of the attack at a festival in Solingen, Germany, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024. (Christoph Reichwein/dpa via AP)
TT
TT

German Stabbing Suspect is 26-year-old Syrian Man

Late in the evening, a man concealed behind police officers turns himself in to the police on the street and claims to be the perpetrator of the attack at a festival in Solingen, Germany, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024. (Christoph Reichwein/dpa via AP)
Late in the evening, a man concealed behind police officers turns himself in to the police on the street and claims to be the perpetrator of the attack at a festival in Solingen, Germany, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024. (Christoph Reichwein/dpa via AP)

The suspect in custody for a stabbing rampage in the western German city of Solingen that killed three people and injured eight is a 26-year-old Syrian man, authorities said early on Sunday.
The suspect turned himself in and admitted to the crime, Duesseldorf police and prosecutors said in a joint statement.
"The involvement of this person is currently under intensive investigation," they said.
The details provide a somewhat fuller picture of an account late on Saturday by a state official who announced on German television the arrest of the man that authorities had been searching for in the 24 hours since the attack.
The attack, for which ISIS claimed responsibility, occurred on Friday evening at a festival to celebrate the city's 650-year history.
The suspect is affiliated with a home for refugees in Solingen that had been searched on Saturday, authorities said.
Der Spiegel, citing unidentified security sources, said that the suspect's clothes had been smeared with blood.
The police declined immediate comment on the Spiegel report.
ISIS described the man who carried out the attack as an "ISIS soldier" in a statement on its Telegram account on Saturday: "He carried out the attack in revenge for Muslims in Palestine and everywhere."

Most Viewed

 
 
World

Telegram Messaging App CEO Durov Arrested in France

Pavel Durov, CEO and co-founder of Telegram speaks onstage during day one of TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2015 at Pier 70 on September 21, 2015 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Steve JENNINGS / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
Pavel Durov, CEO and co-founder of Telegram speaks onstage during day one of TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2015 at Pier 70 on September 21, 2015 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Steve JENNINGS / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
TT
TT

Telegram Messaging App CEO Durov Arrested in France

Pavel Durov, CEO and co-founder of Telegram speaks onstage during day one of TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2015 at Pier 70 on September 21, 2015 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Steve JENNINGS / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
Pavel Durov, CEO and co-founder of Telegram speaks onstage during day one of TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2015 at Pier 70 on September 21, 2015 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Steve JENNINGS / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)

Pavel Durov, the Russian-French billionaire founder and CEO of the Telegram messaging app, was arrested at Bourget airport outside Paris on Saturday evening, TF1 TV and BFM TV said, citing unidentified sources.
Durov was travelling aboard his private jet, TF1 said on its website, adding he had been targeted by an arrest warrant in France as part of a preliminary police investigation.
TF1 and BFM both said the investigation was focused on a lack of moderators on Telegram, and that police considered that this situation allowed criminal activity to go on undeterred on the messaging app.
Durov faces possible indictment on Sunday, according to French media.
The encrypted Telegram, with close to one billion users, is particularly influential in Russia, Ukraine and the republics of the former Soviet Union. It is ranked as one of the major social media platforms after Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok and Wechat.
Telegram did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The French Interior Ministry and police had no comment.
Russian-born Durov founded Telegram with his brother in 2013. He left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with government demands to shut down opposition communities on his VKontakte social media platform, which he sold.
"I would rather be free than to take orders from anyone," Durov told U.S. journalist Tucker Carlson in April about his exit from Russia and search for a home for his company which included stints in Berlin, London, Singapore and San Francisco.
After Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Telegram has become the main source of unfiltered - and sometimes graphic and misleading - content from both sides about the war and the politics surrounding the conflict.
The platform has become what some analysts call 'a virtual battlefield' for the war, used heavily by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his officials, as well as the Russian government.
Telegram – which allows users to evade official scrutiny - has also become one of the few places where Russians can access independent news about the war after the Kremlin increased curbs on independent media following its invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian foreign ministry said its embassy in Paris was clarifying the situation around Durov and called on Western non-governmental organizations to demand his release.