Ukrainian former prime minister and current opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko has been questioned for more than 10 hours in the latest interrogation by prosecutors investigating her on charges of abuse of office.
Reports say the questioning of Tymoshenko in Kyiv on December 30 lasted until around midnight.
She emerged saying she thought she could not receive a fair hearing and adding that Ukraine's judicial system does not work "in the interests of the country and citizens."
Tymoshenko is accused of violating laws when, as prime minister, she approved the transfer of carbon credit funds earmarked for other purposes to cover a shortfall in pension funds.
At the time of the alleged transgression, Tymoshenko was campaigning in a fierce race for president.
Tymoshenko, a leading figure in Ukraine's 2004 Orange Revolution who lost to President Viktor Yanukovych in February's presidential runoff, has denied wrongdoing and accused the government of pursuing a political prosecution of her.
The United States Embassy in Ukraine on December 30 expressed concern about what it called "selective or politically motivated" prosecutions of senior officials connected to Ukraine's previous government.
compiled from agency reports