Telegram did not immediately respond to requests for comments to the Russian neighborhood [File]
|Photo source: Reuters
Authorities in two regions of Russia blocked the telegraph messenger for fear that the app could be used by the enemy, and the region’s digital development minister was cited by the Tass State Ansper agency on Saturday.
Dagestan and Chechnya are mainly Muslim areas in southern Russia, where intelligence agencies have increased in radical Islamic activities.
Yuri Gamzatov, Minister of Digital Development of Dagstein, said: “The enemy is often used by the enemy, and one example is the riots at the Makhachkala airport.”
Gamzatov referred to an anti-Israel riot in Dagstein in October 2023 when hundreds of protesters attacked an airport in an attempt to attack passengers arriving at the plane from the Jewish state. No passenger was injured, and the authorities prosecuted several people for the incident.
News of the arrival of the plane spread on the local telegraph channel, with users posting calls for anti-Semitic violence. The telegram condemned the attack and said it would block the channel.
The Telegram did not immediately respond to a request for comment to the Russian neighborhood.
Headquartered in Dubai, the messenger was founded by Russia-born Pavel Durov, with nearly 1 billion users and is widely used in Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet republics.
Moscow tried but failed to block telegrams in 2018, and in the past he had asked the platform to take over user data. Durov is conducting a formal investigation in France as part of an investigation into organized crime of the app.
Dagstein Minister Gamzatov said telegrams may be blocked in the future, but users are encouraged to turn to other messengers.
publishing – March 10, 2025 at 2:59 pm
