Russia charges Telegram founder Durov with terrorism

Russia's Federal Security Service charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorism on Wednesday and issued an international arrest warrant for the messaging app CEO, escalating a long-running confrontation between Moscow and one of its most prominent tech expatriates.

The Charges

The FSB accused Durov of failing to remove channels, chats, and bots used by Ukrainian intelligence agencies and "extremist organisations" that Moscow says contributed to "attacks killing civilians," according to Reuters. The agency said Telegram had aided "the preparation of terrorist attacks and cybercriminal activities in Russia, resulting in numerous human casualties, including women and children".al-monitor+1

The charges were brought under Article 205.1 of the Russian Criminal Code, which covers complicity in terrorism. Russia's Investigative Committee said it was separately examining criminal cases involving the recruitment of teenagers into alleged terrorism and sabotage through a Telegram chatbot called "Dayvinchik/Leo".euronews+1

Durov's Response

Durov, 41, who holds French and UAE passports and has lived outside Russia for years, described the case as politically motivated. Writing on Telegram, he said Russian authorities were seeking pretexts to restrict access to the platform inside Russia. The Kremlin frequently targets its political enemies on charges of supporting "terrorism" or "extremism".euronews

Durov already faces a separate criminal investigation in France, where he was arrested in August 2024 at Le Bourget Airport over allegations related to the spread of illegal content on Telegram.wikipedia+1

Background

Telegram is one of the most widely used communications platforms in Russia, with tens of millions of active users. Russian officials have made repeated attempts to block or restrict the service, or to compel Durov to hand over user data. The platform was blocked in Russia from 2018 to 2020 before the ban was lifted without explanation.euronews

Born in St. Petersburg, Durov also founded VKontakte, widely known as "Russia's Facebook," before being forced out of that company as it came under pressure from authorities in the mid-2010s.euronews