Guinea-Bissau junta releases six opposition leaders held after coup

Guinea-Bissau’s ruling junta announced on Tuesday that it has released six opposition members who were arrested following last month’s coup. 

The announcement was made as the military government continues to face pressure over the detention of political figures.

The six individuals freed were said to be close allies of Domingos Simoes Pereira, the leader of the PAIGC party which led Guinea-Bissau to independence in 1974.

The releases are a “sign of good faith and a compromise for the return to constitutional normality and respect for international rights”, the High Military Command, the junta’s governing body, said in a statement seen by AFP.

The army seized power on November 26 after ousting outgoing president Umaro Sissoco Embalo in the wake of a presidential vote.

The military then suspended the electoral process and announced it was taking control of the west African country for a period of one year.

Another opposition candidate, Fernando Dias, took refuge in Nigeria’s embassy, which granted him asylum, while Embalo fled the country after being briefly detained by the military at the time of the coup.

On Sunday, Senegal’s foreign minister led a delegation to Guinea-Bissau, where he met with detained opponents and requested their release.

West African regional bloc ECOWAS this month threatened “targeted sanctions” on anyone obstructing Guinea-Bissau’s return to civilian rule following the coup.

Before November’s coup, Guinea-Bissau had already undergone four military takeovers and a litany of attempted insurrections since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974.

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