[REVISION HISTORY]

Russian terrorist designation of Telegram founder

Updated 2 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-07-31 12:05 UTC → 2026-07-31 13:52 UTC · added ~~removed~~

In late July 2026 the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) ~~intensified~~ escalated its legal campaign against Telegram founder Pavel Durov. After issuing an international arrest warrant on 29 ~~July and adding him to Russia’s terrorist and extremist registers,~~ July, the agency ~~issued a further declaration on 31 July. The FSB~~ formally charged Durov on 31 July with facilitating terrorist activity, placed him on the Rosfinmonitoring ~~list of extremists~~ extremist and ~~terrorists,~~ terrorist list, and announced that it would ~~seek his~~ pursue extradition through Interpol. The charges ~~cite Durov’s alleged failure~~ allege that Telegram failed to remove ~~Telegram~~ channels, chats and bots that Moscow says were used by Ukrainian intelligence ~~for~~ to coordinate sabotage and mass‑casualty attacks. Under Russian law Durov is now barred from publishing ~~information on the Internet,~~ online, faces a possible life‑sentence, and ~~the designation brings the risk of freezing~~ risks having his bank accounts frozen and other ~~severe~~ financial ~~restrictions. Durov~~ restrictions imposed. Durov, who lives in Dubai and holds French and Emirati citizenship, responded on his ~~own~~ Telegram ~~channel, mocking the move and~~ channel with sarcasm, accusing officials of being “confused about who can ban whom from the Internet.” ~~These developments deepen the legal pressure on Durov and Telegram, complementing~~ The move adds to parallel investigations in France and Australia into ~~the platform’s~~ Telegram’s content‑moderation ~~practices.~~ practices, deepening the pressure on both Durov and the platform.

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