The United Nations human rights office on Friday welcomed the release of six opposition figures detained after last month’s coup in Guinea-Bissau. The freed individuals were close allies of Domingos Simoes Pereira, leader of the PAIGC party that led the country to independence in 1974.
Pereira himself remains in detention following the military takeover, raising continued concern over political repression in the west African state. UN spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan described the releases as an encouraging step, but warned that progress remained fragile and incomplete.
He said authorities must end all arbitrary detentions and halt intimidation, including attacks on rights defenders and restrictions on basic freedoms. The army seized power on November 26, ousting President Umaro Sissoco Embalo after a disputed presidential election.
Military leaders suspended the electoral process and declared they would govern Guinea-Bissau for one year. The UN said its officials were granted access to four detainees last week, calling the move an important but limited advance.
However, families of other detainees still lack information about their relatives’ fate, location, or legal status. The UN warned that such uncertainty could amount to enforced disappearance under international human rights law.
It urged authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all individuals detained for exercising their fundamental rights. Guinea-Bissau has endured repeated military takeovers since independence, with instability continuing to shadow its political future.