Thousands in Moscow protest at Telegram blocking

MOSCOW: Thousands rallied on Monday in Moscow in support of internet freedom after Russian authorities tried to block access to the popular messaging app Telegram in the latest onslaught against dissent under Vladimir Putin.

In an usually strong turnout, at least 8,000 people including top opposition leader Alexei Navalny turned up in the centre of the Russian capital, many holding placards and shooting paper airplanes, the Telegram symbol, an AFP journalist said.

A volunteer movement that counts attendees at opposition rallies said more than 10,000 people turned up. Police said 7,500 attended. "Big moron is not blocking you", read one sign making light of the botched effort by authorities to block the messaging service.

Some in the mostly young crowd chanted "Don’t stay silent" and "Putin is a thief". Earlier this month a court ruled to block Telegram in Russia after it refused to give state security services access to private conversations that are normally encrypted.

But in seeking to deny access to Telegram, the state telecoms regulator blocked millions of IP addresses, disrupting the work of many businesses including car manufacturer Volvo. Roskomnadzor has failed to fully block Telegram, with Russians turning to VPNs and proxies to bypass the ban.