Telegram founder challenges Russian allegations of aiding terrorism

Telegram founder Pavel Durov has addressed the recent initiation of a criminal case in Russia accusing him of aiding terrorist activities.

In a post on his official Telegram account, Durov said:

“Russia has opened a criminal case against me for ‘aiding terrorism.’ Each day, the authorities fabricate new pretexts to restrict Russians’ access to Telegram as they seek to suppress the right to privacy and free speech. A sad spectacle of a state afraid of its own people.”

Russia launched a criminal investigation into the Telegram founder, Pavel Durov, on suspicion of “abetting terrorist activities”, further escalating the Kremlin’s standoff with the widely used messaging app.

The state newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported that a case had been opened “based on materials from Russia’s federal security service”, which accused the app of being compromised by western and Ukrainian intelligence.

Earlier this month, Moscow announced it would slow down Telegram’s traffic because of what it said were multiple violations, as the Kremlin attempts to steer tens of millions of Russian users towards a state-controlled alternative, known as MAX.

The strategy forms part of the Kremlin’s push to build a “sovereign internet”, an online space tightly controlled by the state.

Asked about the investigation into Durov, who lives abroad, the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said authorities had identified quantities of material on Telegram that could “potentially pose a threat” to Russia.

By Vafa Guliyeva