SYRIAN LAWYER OMMRAN AL-ZU'BIS, 2002-02-05 (photo)

Syrian lawyer Ommran al-Zu'bis talks during a media conference in Damascus on February 5, 2002. The lawyers announced at the conference the creation of a national committee for the defence of Azmi Bishara, an Arab deputy in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, who is being charged in Israel for arranging visits to Syria, an enemy state. Bishara, one of 12 Arab lawmakers in the 120-member Knesset, has visited Syria a number of times and met with the late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad and his son and successor Bashar al-Assad. Bishara was stripped of his parliamentary immunity in August last year, opening the way for his prosecution. REUTERS/ Khaled al-Hariri ln/WS