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Russia Charges Telegram Founder Pavel Durov with Aiding Terrorism
['Amina Elghoubachi', 'Donya Essassi']
Barlaman Today
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov in absentia on Wednesday with facilitating terrorism, accusing him of allowing Ukrainian intelligence services to use the messaging platform to recruit operatives and coordinate attacks inside Russia, according to the BBC.
The FSB said Telegram had failed to remove channels, chats, and automated accounts allegedly used to support sabotage and terrorist activity.
Russian authorities also placed Durov on an international wanted list.
Durov previously accused Russian authorities of inventing reasons to restrict access to the platform.
Tens of millions of people use Telegram in Russia, where authorities have tightened restrictions on the app as part of a broader crackdown on internet freedom.