“The release on Tuesday of six opposition figures detained in Guinea-Bissau is an encouraging step. More needs to be done,” said Thameen al-Kheetan, spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a statement.
“The authorities must end all arbitrary detentions and all forms of intimidation, including physical attacks on human rights defenders and restrictions on freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly,” he added.
“Our office had access to four individuals detained last week, which is an important step. However, the families of several other detainees remain without information about their fate, whereabouts or charges against them. This may constitute enforced disappearance,” the spokesperson warned.
Finally, he called on the military junta to ensure the immediate and unconditional release of all persons detained for exercising their human rights. Six political opponents detained since the military coup on 26 November were released on Monday, 23 December, according to a statement from the ruling junta.
On 26 November, one day before the announcement of the provisional results of the presidential and legislative elections in Guinea-Bissau, the military deposed then-President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, in power since 2020, and suspended the ongoing electoral process.
Opposition candidate Fernando Dias, who claims victory, took refuge at the Nigerian embassy, which granted him asylum. A prominent opposition leader, Domingos Simões Pereira, was arrested on the day of the coup, along with other opposition figures.
The six people released on Monday night are close allies of Simões Pereira, leader of the PAIGC (African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cabo Verde), the historic party that led the country to independence from Portugal.
Simões Pereira remains in detention along with other opposition figures, while Dias remains a refugee in the Nigerian embassy. Initially detained by the military at the time of the coup, the President fled the country.
The junta appointed General Horta Inta-A, a close ally of Umaro Sissoco Embaló, as head of a transitional government with a planned duration of one year. Last week, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) threatened to impose “targeted sanctions” on anyone who attempts to obstruct the return to civilian rule in Guinea-Bissau.
The country is suspended from ECOWAS, the African Union and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), an organisation in which it held the rotating presidency.
The opposition and international figures have claimed that the coup was staged by Embaló, who allegedly lost at the polls, thus preventing the results from being released and arbitrarily arresting several figures who supported the candidate claiming victory, Fernando Dias.
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