[JURIST] The supposed abductors of Sunni Iraqi legislator Tayseer al-Mashhadani have offered to release her in exchange for the release of all Shiite detainees, a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops, and an end to all attacks on Shiite mosques, Iraqi co-Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi told reporters Wednesday. Al-Hashimi did not say whether the group making the demands offered proof that she was in their custody.

After Saturday's kidnapping of al-Mashhadani in an eastern Shiite-controlled section of Baghdad, several Sunni legislators initiated a boycott of legislative proceedings [CBC report] in protest. The Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front, which controls 44 of the 275 seats in the national assembly, has announced they will boycott the assembly, and have asked other lawmakers to do the same. AP has more. VOI has local coverage.