Kiev's opposition a target, leader says

KIEV, Ukraine, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Officials in Kiev are targeting members of the opposition with absolutely no regard for the law, opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko said.

The prosecutor-general's office in Kiev announced it was investigating whether Tymoshenko misdirected funds from the sale of carbon credits to help pay pensions during an economic crisis in 2009, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports.

Tymoshenko in a statement on her Web site said pensions were paid from state treasury accounts. She accused President Viktor Yanukovych of launching a "terror" campaign against the opposition in Kiev.

Critics said Kiev is trying to divert attention from an unpopular move on pension reform by targeting Tymoshenko.

The former prime minister denied she was charged formally in the matter, though she is scheduled to appear again in court Monday with legal representatives.

In May, the prosecutor general's office in Kiev said Tymoshenko was given notification that criminal proceedings against her for allegedly bribing a judge were reopened.

The case was opened in 2004 but was closed without formal investigations.

Opposition leaders in Kiev accuse Yanukovych of moving too close to former patrons in the Kremlin, with a punch up erupting in the Supreme Council, Ukraine's Parliament, over an April deal to extend the lease for the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Crimea.