Pavel Durov has been served with a summons in Russia as a suspect

Telegram founder Pavel Durov received a summons that was delivered to his address in Russia from twenty years ago. 

He reported this on his Telegram channel, commenting ironically on the actions of Russian law enforcement. According to the businessman, the reason for such attention from the authorities is his principled stance on defending basic human rights.

“They probably suspect me of defending Articles 29 and 23 of the Russian Constitution, which guarantee freedom of speech and the right to private correspondence,” he noted.

This is not the first instance of pressure on the developer from Russian state agencies, which previously led to his emigration after he refused to hand over the messenger’s encryption keys. It is currently unknown under which specific criminal or administrative case the summons was issued.

Such moves by Russian authorities underscore the ongoing conflict between the Telegram platform and the country’s regulatory bodies. Despite past attempts to restrict the service’s operations, the messenger remains one of the primary tools for the free exchange of information. Durov himself continues to emphasize the importance of user data privacy worldwide. The situation with the summons regarding a twenty-year-old registration only underscores the absurdity of the legal proceedings against the founder of the IT giant.

Earlier, Durov announced the launch of Digital Resistance in response to mass blocking in Russia.

Founder Pavel Durov stated that attempts by Russian authorities to restrict VPNs led to a massive failure in the Russian national payment system.