Russia charges Telegram founder Pavel Durov with ‘aiding terrorism’

What the report says

Al Jazeera, citing Reuters, reported that Russian authorities have charged Telegram cofounder Pavel Durov with “aiding terrorism” and issued an international arrest warrant for him. The charge was announced on Wednesday by Russia’s FSB security service, which accused Telegram of failing to remove “channels, chats and bots” allegedly used by Ukrainian intelligence services and groups Russia labels terrorist or extremist to organize attacks inside Russia.

According to the FSB account reported by Al Jazeera, the activity allegedly involved planning or coordinating sabotage, terrorism, mass killings and cyber-fraud operations. The article said there was no official response from Durov or Telegram, though Telegram’s official X account posted an image of Durov making an obscene gesture after the announcement.

The case comes amid Russia’s broader effort to tighten control over messaging and social media platforms. Al Jazeera reported that Moscow has sought to limit use of Telegram and WhatsApp while promoting the state-backed MAX messenger. The article noted expert concerns that MAX lacks end-to-end encryption and says it can share user data with authorities on request. Russia has also blocked or restricted major Western platforms including Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Durov, born in Russia and now also holding Emirati and French passports, created Telegram in 2013 after founding VKontakte. He has previously accused Russian authorities of using legal pressure to undermine privacy and free speech, allegations reported by Al Jazeera. Separately, he faces a legal probe in France over claims Telegram has not done enough to curb criminal activity or cooperate with law enforcement; Durov denies wrongdoing.