MOSCOW — Pavel Durov, the founder of the Telegram messaging app, said Tuesday that the Russian government had opened a criminal investigation against him on charges of ''aiding terrorism.''
Durov, who was born and began his career in Russia, accused Moscow of fabricating pretexts to restrict access by Russians to the Telegram service as part of an attempt to ''suppress the right to privacy and free speech.''
''A sad spectacle of a state afraid of its own people,'' Durov wrote on social media.
Russian media outlets had begun circulating unconfirmed reports earlier in the day that a criminal investigation had been opened against Durov by Russia's Federal Security Service, or FSB.
It comes two weeks after Russia's communications watchdog, Roskomnadzor, said it was restricting the Telegram app, accusing the company of refusing to abide by Russian law.
The move triggered a rare wave of public outcry, including widespread criticism from pro-Kremlin military bloggers, who warned that Telegram was widely used by Russian troops fighting in Ukraine and restricting its service would derail military communications.
However, Russian officials have continued to portray Telegram as a security risk. Digital development minister Maksud Shadayev told Russian news wire Interfax that foreign intelligence agencies could be reading messages sent through Telegram by Russian soldiers on the front line.
When asked about the case, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that the FSB had gathered information on a ''large number of violations'' by Telegram, as well as content that could ''potentially pose a danger to our country.'' He said Telegram had been unwilling to cooperate with the authorities.
