Overview
- State media say investigators have opened a case against Pavel Durov under Article 205.1 for allegedly facilitating terrorist activity via Telegram.
- Reports citing the FSB claim Telegram was used in more than 153,000 crimes since 2022, about 33,000 tied to sabotage or terrorism, with high-profile attacks named as examples.
- Russia’s regulator says it sent over 150,000 takedown requests to Telegram and has already slowed heavy-file uploads as part of sequential restrictions.
- Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov cited a large number of violations on the platform, and a senior Duma lawmaker warned Telegram could be declared extremist within roughly one to one and a half months if it does not cooperate.
- Pavel Durov denied the allegations, and independent reporting notes no official procedural documents or publicly presented evidence substantiating the case have been released so far.