Russia charges Telegram founder Pavel Durov with ‘aiding terrorism’ - Al Jazeera
Russian authorities have issued an international arrest warrant for Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov, charging him with aiding terrorism. The FSB claims the platform failed to remove content used by Ukrainian intelligence and extremist groups to coordinate attacks.
Why it matters
This escalation highlights the ongoing conflict between encrypted messaging platforms and state surveillance, particularly in the context of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Russia’s FSB says Telegram has not pulled content used by Ukrainian intelligence and ‘terrorist’ groups to plan attacks.
x whatsapp-stroke copylink google Add Al Jazeera on Google info Telegram cofounder Pavel Durov [File: Tatan Syuflana/AP Photo] By Reuters Published On 29 Jul 2026 29 Jul 2026 Russian authorities have charged Pavel Durov, cofounder of the encrypted messaging platform Telegram, with “aiding terrorism” and issued an international arrest warrant for him.
Russia’s FSB security agency announced the charge against Durov on Wednesday, saying his company failed to take down “channels, chats and bots” used by “Ukrainian special services and by terrorist and extremist organisations” to prepare and coordinate attacks in Russia.
Those attacks included acts of “sabotage and terrorism, mass killings, and cyber-fraud operations”, said the FSB.
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