Russia has charged Pavel Durov, the founder of the messaging app Telegram, with facilitating terrorism. The charge stems from allegations that the app has been used by Ukrainian secret services for recruitment.
According to Russia's domestic security service, the FSB, Telegram was utilised "to prepare and co-ordinate acts of sabotage and terror" within Russia. The FSB claims the app failed to remove channels, chats, and bots reportedly used by Ukraine.
An international arrest warrant has been issued for Durov, who is Russian-born but resides abroad and holds French and United Arab Emirates passports. It remains unclear whether other countries would comply with such a warrant.
Following the announcement of the charge, Telegram's account on X posted an image of Durov holding up his middle finger. Durov has previously accused Russian authorities of "fabricating new pretexts to restrict Russians' access to Telegram."
Telegram is a popular platform in Russia, used by tens of millions of people, even as authorities continue to restrict internet access as part of a broader crackdown on internet freedom.