Russia has issued an international wanted notice for Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov over accusations of "complicity in terrorism."
According to France24, Russia announced on Wednesday, July 29, that it issued an international arrest warrant for Durov, alleging that his platform is used by “terrorist and extremist organisations.”
Russian security services (FSB) stated, “An international wanted notice has been issued... for the head of the Telegram administration, P Durov.”
It accused Russian-born Durov of failing to remove “numerous channels, chats and bots (that are) actively used by Ukrainian intelligence agencies, terrorist, and extremist organisations to prepare and coordinate acts of sabotage and terrorism, mass murder, and cyberfraud" in Russia, which resulted in “numerous human casualties.”
The agency said Ukrainian security services used a popular dating chatbot on Telegram to lure and recruit Russians for “sabotage and terrorist activities.”
Pavel Durov call allegation politically motivated
The French and UAE passport holder who has been living outside Russia for years described the case as politically motivated, saying on Telegram that the Russian authorities were seeking pretexts to restrict access to the platform inside Russia.
He has frequently clashed with the Russian authorities as Moscow has tightened its grip on the internet space.
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 over the years to block or restrict the service, or to compel Durov to hand over user data.
Telegram was blocked in Russia from 2018 to 2020 before the ban was lifted without explanation.
