The New York Times has jumped on this fast-moving story as they continue to update it (this will be my last update)...
Abductors Briefly Seize Libyan Prime Minister
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK and GERRY MULLANY
New York Times
Published: October 10, 2013
Libya’s prime minister, Ali Zeidan, was briefly kidnapped from a Tripoli hotel on Thursday in an apparent act of retaliation for his supposed consent to the capture of a suspected Al Qaeda leader by American Special Forces.
He was seized before dawn and freed by early afternoon, according to Amal al Jarrari, a spokeswoman for the prime minister’s office, who could not immediately provide details.
The short-lived kidnapping was an ominous sign for the stability of Libya’s transitional government and its cooperation with American counterterrorist efforts. Mr. Zeidan’s abductors appeared to be among the semiautonomous militias who serve as his government’s primary police and security force, according to a statements from the prime minister’s office and a coalition of militia leaders...
More on this story from Reuters....
Former Libyan rebels say seized prime minister over al Qaeda capture
REUTERS
TRIPOLI | Thu Oct 10, 2013 7:00am BST
(Reuters) - A group of former Libyan rebels said it seized Prime Minister Ali Zeidan from a Tripoli hotel on Thursday because of his government's role in the U.S. capture of a top al Qaeda suspect in the Libyan capital.
"His arrest comes after the statement by John Kerry about the capture of Abu Anas al-Liby, after he said the Libyan government was aware of the operation," a spokesman for the group, known as the Operations Room of Libya's Revolutionaries, said referring to the U.S. Secretary of State.
And, here's an excerpt from an earlier story at the Guardian (which was the original lead of the diary)...
Libyan prime minister kidnapped, reports say
theguardian.com, Thursday 10 October 2013 00.36 EDT
Armed men have kidnapped the Libyan prime minister, Ali Zeidan, from a hotel in Tripoli, according to reports.
Abu Dhabi-based Sky News Arabia quoted Libyan security sources as saying that Zeidan was seized from a hotel where he was staying in the Libyan capital and taken to an unknown destination. Dubai-based al-Arabiya carried a similar report.
According to CNN, armed rebels escorted Zeidan from the Corinthian Hotel in Tripol and took him away in a car. The news service quoted a hotel clerk as saying there was no gunfire and the gunmen "caused no trouble"...
The report continues on to note that the Prime Minister's office
"...initially denied the abduction on Facebook but later stated the denial was made at the order of the kidnappers."
Here's an excerpt from a report from Human Rights Watch, from September 30th, which gives us a bit of an overview of the current political situation in Libya...
Lawlessness in Libya
Hanan Salah
Human Rights Watch ("World Policy Blog")
September 30, 2013
Dressed in a black headscarf and traditional black abaya, Alanoud Sanussi, 22, seemed exhausted but still managed to smile at me. The daughter of Libya’s jailed former intelligence chief, she had waited for me in the office of the militia commander, who had abducted her two days earlier–and only minutes after her release from Tripoli’s notorious al-Roueimy prison. It was the second time I had seen her in a week— only this time around we were both at a loss about the circumstances.
Alanoud described her abduction by men of the “First Special Reinforcement Unit,” a militia vying for recognition by the military police; she said their first words to her were: “We are here to save you.” Alanoud’s abduction under the noses of the very people assigned to protect her underscores the government’s failure to get a grip on security and raises the question of how Libyan forces can ensure that her father and others associated with Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi’s years in power receive fair trials. How can the authorities guarantee the safety of a former intelligence chief whom many revile, or of Qaddafi’s son, who symbolizes oppression in the eyes of many Libyans?
Two years after NATO ended its air campaign, resulting in Qaddafi’s defeat, the United States, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, and the European Union have done little to follow through with an effective Libya restructural policy. They have struggled to coordinate support to address the problems with Libya’s security sector and justice system.
The lack of security is a key concern. The judicial police, responsible for protecting judges, prosecutors, witnesses, and lawyers, are weak and lack training. Meanwhile, public contempt for the judicial profession is growing and judges face constant threats—at least two have already been killed.
Lawyers also lack protection. Hanan Anuweisry, a female lawyer, was viciously attacked by a defendant and armed militias, who tried to force her to drop a child custody case. She told me the same militia abducted and tortured her elderly father. The authorities did not intervene or make any arrests.
The government and aligned armed groups, as well as militias that the government does not control, have held thousands of detainees for long periods of time without due process...
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Elsewhere in breaking international news, today...
Oops: Azerbaijan released election results before voting had even started
By Max Fisher
Washington Post
October 9 at 5:31 pm
Azerbaijan's big presidential election, held on Wednesday, was anticipated to be neither free nor fair. President Ilham Aliyev, who took over from his father 10 years ago, has stepped up intimidation of activists and journalists. Rights groups are complaining about free speech restrictions and one-sided state media coverage. The BBC's headline for its story on the election reads "The Pre-Determined President." So expectations were pretty low.
Even still, one expects a certain ritual in these sorts of authoritarian elections, a fealty to at least the appearance of democracy, if not democracy itself. So it was a bit awkward when Azerbaijan's election authorities released vote results – a full day before voting had even started…
(Diarist's Note:
Katherine Harris was unavailable for comment.)
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