The founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, has been added to the list of terrorists and extremists maintained by the Federal Financial Monitoring Service. Inclusion on this list entails a number of legal restrictions for those on the register.
WHAT HAPPENED
According to RIA Novosti, Pavel Durov has been included in the list of terrorists and extremists of Rosfinmonitoring.
Individuals included in the list, according to current Russian rules, cannot interact with the mass media, post information on the internet, organise public events, participate in elections, or use financial services, except for transactions related to tax payments, salary payments, and compensation for damages caused.
CONTEXT
Earlier, Russian law enforcement agencies reported that Pavel Durov had been charged with aiding terrorist activities and placed on the international wanted list.
The investigation claims that the administration of Telegram, according to the agency, did not delete channels, chats, and bots allegedly used by Ukrainian special services to prepare terrorist activities and other crimes on Russian territory.
Pavel Durov himself previously stated that the criminal prosecution and accusations from the Russian authorities are an attempt to find new grounds for restricting Russians' access to Telegram, as well as to exert pressure on freedom of speech and the right to privacy.
