Internet reports that Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov was scheduled to attend the Oslo Freedom Forum in Oslo, Norway, but the French court has rejected his request to leave the country. The organizer, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF), said that Durov will deliver the keynote speech via live online. Durov had previously publicly accused French intelligence chief Nicolas Lerner of asking him to ban conservative political content before the Romania presidential election. Durov refused to cooperate and said the move "undermines democracy in the name of democracy." He emphasized that Telegram will not censor political speech in any market and said that if it encounters pressure from mandatory censorship, it will choose to withdraw from relevant markets. "We are not blocking protesters in Russia, Belarus or Iran, and we will not do that in Europe," he said.