Russia Issues Arrest Warrant for Telegram CEO

Russian authorities issued an international arrest warrant for Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov on Wednesday, charging him with involvement in terrorism. Durov, a Russian-born tech entrepreneur who has lived abroad for years and now holds French and Emirati passports, has frequently clashed with Moscow as the state tightens its grip on the internet. Telegram, the messaging app he created, is one of the most popular communication platforms in Russia. The Kremlin has repeatedly tried to block access or hinder its success to pressure Durov into handing over user data or pushing citizens towards state-backed, unencrypted alternatives. “An international search notice has been issued… for the head of Telegram’s administration, P. Durov,” the Federal Security Service (FSB) stated. Moscow routinely targets political opponents with accusations of supporting terrorism or extremism. In Durov’s case, the FSB claims Telegram was used as a recruitment tool by Ukrainian security services to coerce Russian citizens into committing acts of sabotage. He is accused of facilitating terrorism by failing to remove “prohibited information.” The FSB elaborated that the charges relate to Telegram’s failure to delete material “used by Ukrainian special services and terrorist and extremist organisations to prepare and coordinate sabotage and terrorist acts, mass killings, and cyber fraud operations on the territory of the Russian Federation.” There was no immediate response from Durov or Telegram. Durov, who now resides in France, is also facing separate legal issues regarding the dissemination of illegal content on the platform. Born in Saint Petersburg, the hometown of President Vladimir Putin, Durov previously founded VKontakte, widely known as Russia’s Facebook, but was forced out of the company under mounting state pressure in the mid-2010s before launching Telegram.