Telegram Founder Threatened with Life in Prison in Russia
JAKARTA - Telegram founder Pavel Durov is facing a long prison sentence of up to life imprisonment if found guilty of aiding and abetting terrorism.
Oleg Zernov's lawyer told the RIA Novosti news agency on Wednesday, July 29, explaining that inciting, recruiting, or involving others in terrorist crimes is punishable by eight to 15 years in prison, or even life imprisonment.
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said Durov had been placed on an international wanted list (DPO).
Durov was charged under Article 205.1, Paragraph 1.1 of the Russian Criminal Code regarding acts of facilitating terrorism.
According to the FSB, Telegram management was judged to have failed to delete channels, chat groups, and bots used by the Ukrainian intelligence agency to plan sabotage, terrorist attacks in Russia, mass murder, and cyber fraud.
The series of actions reportedly caused many casualties and material losses of billions.
Telegram itself is an instant messaging platform that allows its users to exchange messages and multimedia files in various formats.
Founded by Durov in 2013, Telegram now has more than 1 billion monthly active users.