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Telegram founder Pavel Durov on Thursday slammed Russia's recent decision to label him a "terrorist" after he refused to comply with state demands for mass censorship and surveillance on his platform.
In a recent statement shared on X, Durov pointed out that he has been banned from "publishing information on the internet" under Russian law. Mocking the measures, he remarked, "Russia has designated me as a 'terrorist' for refusing its demands for mass surveillance and censorship on Telegram. Under Russian law, I'm banned from 'publishing information on the Internet'. Russian officials are clearly confused about who can ban whom from the Internet." This comes after Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) charged Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorist activities and launched procedures to place him on the international wanted list, according to Russian state-run news agency TASS. The FSB said Durov, who heads Telegram's administration, has been charged under Part 1.1 of Article 205.1 of the Russian Criminal Code, which pertains to assistance to terrorist activity. "Telegram administration head Pavel Durov has been charged... (with facilitating terrorist activities) as part of a criminal case under investigation, and an international warrant for his arrest has been issued," the FSB said, according to TASS. According to TASS, lawyer Vladimir Zherebenkov said Durov could also face arrest in absentia, highlighting it as a standard legal procedure required for extradition. "This is a standard procedure required to extradite a person to Russia. A Russian court issues an arrest warrant in absentia, after which Russian law enforcement agencies begin seeking his extradition, including through Interpol. Durov will likely face the same," Zherebenkov told TASS. Citing a legal representative, Sputnik reported that the criminal charges against Telegram's CEO Durov could carry a life sentence. Sputnik, attributing information to the FSB, reported that Russian authorities accused Telegram of failing to remove channels, chats and bots allegedly used by Ukrainian intelligence services to coordinate terrorist attacks and mass-casualty operations inside Russia. It further claimed that such activities had resulted in numerous fatalities, including women and children, and caused billions of dollars in material damage. Sputnik also reported the FSB's allegation that Ukrainian operatives used Telegram's dating service to pose as young women, befriend Russian men and recruit them into carrying out terrorist activities. The agency further claimed that since July 2025, Russian authorities had detained 46 young users of the dating service across 16 regions who were allegedly acting on instructions from Ukrainian intelligence to attack police officers and carry out arson attacks. Earlier, the 41-year-old billionaire had been charged with crimes on Telegram, including the spread of child sexual abuse material, fraud and drug sales, according to French prosecutors. At that time, Durov noted that operating a global communications platform is a tricky balance between privacy and security, adding that in Russia and Iran, the messaging company has been willing to be banned rather than cede to government demands. (ANI)
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