Report: Iran launches criminal case against Durov, Telegram owner

MOSCOW, Sep 27 (PRIME) – Iran has launched a criminal case against Pavel Durov, founder of messenger Telegram, because the messenger is popular among members of the Islamic State terrorist group, local news agency ISNA reported late on Tuesday.

“The network Telegram provides services of drug smuggling and human trafficking in addition to provision of services to terrorists, including the Islamic State,” ISNA reported quoting Tehran’s Prosecutor General Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi.

Durov said he was surprised by the news. “We are actively blocking terrorists and the pornographic content in Iran. I do not think it is the real reason,” he said, adding that the company bans thousands of Telegram channels, bots and chats with terroristic or pornographic content in Iran.

End