Russian lawmaker Butina says arrest of Durov means freedom of speech is 'dead' in Europe

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian lawmaker Maria Butina said on Sunday that the arrest of Pavel Durov, the Russian-born billionaire founder and owner of the Telegram, was part of a witch-hunt that means freedom of speech is now "dead" in Europe.

"Pavel Durov is a political prisoner - a victim of a witch-hunt by the West," Butina told Reuters.

"The arrest of Pavel Durov means there is no freedom of speech - it means that freedom of speech in Europe is dead."

Butina, who spent 15 months in U.S. prison for acting as an unregistered Russian agent and is now a lawmaker for the ruling United Russia party, said that she believed Durov had been arrested in an attempt by the West to gain control of Telegram.

"Now basically they have a hostage and they will try to blackmail Russia, they will try to blackmail all the users of Telegram and not only try to get control but also try to block the network here in Russia," she said.

(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)