Russia charges Telegram founder Pavel Durov with ‘aiding terrorism’ - Al Jazeera

What the report says

Al Jazeera, carrying a Reuters report, said Russian authorities have charged Telegram cofounder Pavel Durov with “aiding terrorism” and issued an international arrest warrant. The FSB security service announced the case on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, alleging that Telegram did not remove channels, chats and bots it says were 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 alleged activity included sabotage, terrorism, mass killings and cyber-fraud operations. The report said there was no official response from Durov or Telegram at the time, though Telegram’s official X account posted an image of Durov making an obscene hand gesture after the announcement.

The case comes amid wider Russian pressure on foreign messaging and social media platforms. Al Jazeera reported that Moscow has been moving to limit the use of Telegram and WhatsApp while promoting MAX, a state-backed messenger. The article noted expert concerns that MAX does not offer end-to-end encryption and states it can provide user data to authorities on request. Russia has also blocked platforms including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and has tightened restrictions on YouTube.

Durov, born in Russia and now a holder of Emirati and French passports, cofounded Telegram in 2013 after creating VKontakte. He has previously accused Russian authorities of using investigations as a pretext to curb Telegram and privacy rights. Separately, he faces a French legal probe over Telegram’s handling of criminal activity and law-enforcement requests; he denies wrongdoing.