U.S. Concerned Over Ukraine’s Prosecution Of Former Officials

KIEV, Ukraine -- The U.S. said it’s concerned that the recent prosecution of former government officials in Ukraine is “politically motivated.”
Ukraine’s Prosecutor General has opened criminal cases against six members of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s Cabinet, including her.

Tymoshenko lost a presidential election to Viktor Yanukovych in February and the probe is “terror against the opposition,” she said in a statement on her website on Dec. 15.

“While corruption should be pursued, prosecution should not be selective or politically motivated,” the U.S. Embassy in Kiev said in an e-mailed statement today.

The pursuit of officials “connected with the previous government” by authorities “gives the appearance of selective prosecution of political opponents.”

Tymoshenko was handed a no-flee warrant earlier this month after a criminal probe was started against her.

She’s accused of misusing funds from the 2009 sale of emissions permits to Japan. She has denied the allegations.