Russia has launched a criminal investigation into the Telegram founder, Pavel Durov, on suspicion of "abetting terrorist activities", further escalating the Kremlin's standoff with the widely used messaging app. The state newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported on Tuesday that a case had been opened "based on materials from Russia's federal security service", which accused the app of being compromised by western and Ukrainian intelligence. Durov, who lives abroad, criticised the investigation against him, describing it as an attempt to "suppress the right to privacy and free speech".