UPDATE: Moscow crt to start considering Telegram case on merits Fri

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MOSCOW, Apr 12 (PRIME) -- The Tagansky District Court of Moscow will start considering a lawsuit filed by the communications service seeking to block popular messenger Telegram in Russia on the merits on Friday, PRIME reported on Thursday.

“A hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Moscow time, April 13,” Judge Yulia Smolina said.

Telegram and the Federal Security Service will take part in the case as interested parties.

The Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media filed the lawsuit on April 6 to limit access to information resources of Telegram.

The period of 15 days given by the communications service to Telegram to provide the Federal Security Service with the keys to decipher users’ messages expired on April 4. The messenger said the order cannot be fulfilled technically.

The communications service also asked the court on Thursday to approve an immediate blocking of Telegram if the authority’s lawsuit is satisfied.

“When the court makes a decision, it will be immediately fulfilled in case of having our request satisfied,” a spokesperson for the communications service said.

The court held a pre-trial preparation on Thursday, which was not attended by Telegram’s lawyers.

Telegram’s lawyer Pavel Chikov said Telegram’s founder and CEO Pavel Durov had banned his lawyers from participating in the case.

“Pavel Durov has forbidden his lawyers from taking part in tomorrow’s court proceedings on the lawsuit of the communications service to Telegram in order not to legitimize an ill-disguised farce by their presence,” Chikov said in a Telegram post.

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