Engineer of Gaza power plant kidnapped by Israel appeared in court

Abu Sisi

An electrical engineer of Gaza's only power plant  has finally appeared in an Israeli court after having been kidnapped  in Ukraine about 40 days ago. Dirar Abu Sisi (43) was forcibly removed from a train in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, on 19 February for interrogation by Israeli agents. He said he was handcuffed, hooded and then held in an apartment before being flown to Israel. He said he went a total of 25 days before seeing a lawyer.
No charges were laid, but the court extended Dirar Abu Sisi's detention.The authorities say they will charge Mr Abu Sisi - a manager at Gaza's main power plant - next week, his Israeli lawyer Smadar Ben-Natan said on Thursday. Abu Sisi accuses Israel of "kidnapping him for no reason". He also denies any knowledge about a captive Israeli soldier in the Gaza Strip - amid media speculation to that effect. The reasons for the kidnapping are still unclear. Israel had placed the case yunder a gag order. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said Mr Abu Sisi was 'a Hamas man' who has provided 'valuable information'. Abu Sisi's family say he is not politically involved. 

SYRIA
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad has directed a legal committee to look into lifting unpopular emergency laws, in place for nearly half a century. It will finish work by 25 April, reported the state news agency Sana.
The announcement comes a day after President Assad vowed to defeat a "plot" against his country, but failed to announce the lifting of emergency legislation as some had predicted.
Protesters have called on Facebook for more protests following Friday prayers, reported news agency AFP.



LIBYA
A Libyan envoy representing Col Muammar Gaddafi has been in London in the past few days for talks with British officials, the BBC has learnt.
Mohammed Ismail, an aide to one of Col Gaddafi's sons, was apparently told the Libyan leader had to give up power. It was not the first time there was news about Gaddafi envoys trying to get in touch with the coalition forces.
Gaddafi's miniter of foreign affairs, Moussa Koussa, has defected to London. UK Prime Minister David Cameron said that Mr Koussa had not been offered immunity from prosecution. Scottish prosecutors have asked to interview him about the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, which left 270 people dead, though government sources told the Guardian they did not think he was involved. There are unconfirmed reports that more people have left the inner circle of Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, following the high level desertion of Moussa Koussa. On Wednesday. Ali Abdul Salaam Treki, a former miniter of foreign affairs, who was recently named as Libya's permanent representative to the United Nations, said he is not accepting the post. Treki is in Cairo.
CIA officers are on the ground in Libya, coordinating with rebels and sharing intelligence, U.S. officials say, but the Obama administration has not yet decided whether to take the further step of providing weapons to those trying to oust Moammar Gaddafi, accordingto the Los Angeles Times. It is said that the financial position of the rebels, and thereby their possibility to procure arms, has improved after Qatar offred to market oil stored in places the rebels have captured.

YEMEN

video via Yemen Rights Monitor blog