Russia opens criminal investigation against Telegram app founder Pavel Durov

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.”