Pavel Durov, the founder of the messaging service Telegram, has been charged with facilitating terrorist activities by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB). An international warrant has been placed for Durov's arrest.
Soon after the warrant was issued, the official Telegram Twitter/X account showed an image of Durov pointing his middle finger to the camera. No further comment has been made from Telegram's side. The FSB would see Durov imprisoned due to Telegram's failure to remove material "used by Ukrainian special services and by terrorist and extremist organisations to prepare and coordinate acts of sabotage and terrorism, mass killings, and cyber-fraud operations within the Russian Federation," as per Reuters.
Telegram, which has over 1 billion users, has been used on both sides of the Russia-Ukraine war. Russia has tried to replace Telegram with its state-promoted MAX app. The Kremlin and other state bodies continue to post on Telegram.
Durov is also being investigated by French authorities, over allegations that Telegram did little to counter criminal activity on the platform. Durov's whereabouts are currently unknown, and he denies any wrongdoing.
