President Viktor Yanukovych, through his control over the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO), has begun persecuting relatives of opposition politicians, Tymoshenko's official website cited the opposition leader as saying.

"Yanukovych has decided to take relatives of opposition politicians hostage because some of the opposition politicians are already in jail. This is genuine terror and Yanukovych is demanding payment for the life and freedom of people close to opposition politicians – that they stop their opposition activities," Yulia Tymoshenko told journalists today before her latest round of questioning at the PGO.

She recalled on that Feb. 18 a relative of MP Andriy Kozhemyakin was arrested on the basis of oral testimony given by a Kyiv official.

"I can also say that a close relative of Oleksandr Turchynov was also summoned to the Prosecutor General’s Office for questioning today," she added.

Yulia Tymoshenko also said that SBU investigator Horbatenko has been putting pressure on the wife of BYuT-Batkivshchyna MP Ruslan Lukyanchuk as well as the 77-year-old mother of former head of the State Treasury Tetyana Slyuz.

"Former head of the State Treasury Tetyana Slyuz today is being wrongly terrorized by the Prosecutor General’s Office and the SBU. The police are visiting her 77-year-old mother. Oleksiy Sytnykiv is threatening her with some strange things, telling her that her daughter was killed by opposition forces. Tetyana Slyuz’s mother, who is 77, is in a preinfarction state. Tetyana Slyuz’s son, Andriy, is also being dragged to questionings," she said.

"They’re intimidating relatives because they want to influence politicians, want in some way to influence our opposition activities," Yulia Tymoshenko believes.

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