Russia issues warning to France over ‘political persecution’ of Telegram founder The Kremlin warned France on Thursday not to transform the criminal case against Telegram founder Pavel Durov into “political persecution.” Russia, which has led an unprecedented crackdown on political opponents during its Ukraine offensive, has characterized Pavel Durov’s surprise arrest in Paris earlier this week as politically motivated. France has charged the Russian-born Durov—who also holds French citizenship—on several counts related to failing to curb extremist and illegal content on the popular social media platform. “The main thing is for what is...