No weighty arguments to accuse Russian ex-defence minister Serdyukov

The investigators have no weighty arguments yet to change the witness status of Russian ex-Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov to the accused, RF presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said. Anatoly Serdyukov was fired last autumn over massive misappropriations, which were exposed in the holding Oboronservis affiliated with the ministry. “If he is still is not a defendant, then the investigation does not yet has the required number of arguments, which would made it possible to change his status,” he said in an interview to the Sunday Night program on the Rossiya-1 TV channel. “The same is true concerning the vast number of persons who are witnesses. This does not mean that they are guilty. Let’s refer to the president’s words in this connection that it’s not 1937,” the president’s press secretary said. Answering the question why the charges against blogger Alexei Navalny were brought so quickly, and there are still no charges against Serdyukov, Peskov said: “Because the volume of Navalny’s activities can hardly be compared with the volume of activities in the Ministry of Defence.”