Pavel Durov, the founder of the Telegram messenger, said a summons had been served on him at the address where he lived in Russia 20 years ago, labelling him a “suspect”.
“They apparently suspect me of defending Articles 29 and 23 of the Russian Constitution, which guarantee freedom of speech and the right to secrecy of correspondence. I am proud to be guilty!” – Durov wrote. From which agency the summons came and on what occasion, he did not specify. Durov lived in St Petersburg 20 years ago.
Durov, who lives abroad, spoke about the criminal case against him in Russia back in February after Roskomnadzor announced the extension of restrictions on Telegram’s activities in the country. At that time, the official Rossiyskaya Gazeta and the pro-government Komsomolskaya Pravda, in articles published on the same day and written “based on FSB materials,” claimed that Durov was being investigated under the article on promoting terrorism. But law enforcers have not yet officially announced the existence of such a case or that Durov is a suspect.
Pavel Durov has sharply criticised Russian authorities for restrictions against Telegram. “Every day the authorities come up with new excuses to restrict Russians’ access to Telegram, seeking to suppress the right to privacy and freedom of speech. A sad spectacle-state that is afraid of its own people,” Durov wrote in February.
In April, after Telegram was effectively blocked in Russia, he called for “digital resistance” and noted that the messenger would develop new ways to circumvent blockades. The authorities’ fight against Telegram has also drawn criticism from some pro-war bloggers, who point to the messenger’s popularity among the Russian military and its use as a means of communication at the front.