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Guinea-Bissau opposition leader arrested for alleged October coup attempt
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Elections & Politics

Guinea-Bissau opposition leader arrested for alleged October coup attempt

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified New plan
  • Guinea-Bissau opposition leader Domingos Simões Pereira was arrested and detained for alleged involvement in a coup attempt in October 2025.
  • His lawyers claim the process is politically motivated and that he had no knowledge of any actions to subvert the constitutional order.
  • The arrest marks an escalation of measures after he was previously held for 60 days following a 2025 coup and later placed under house arrest.

Guinea-Bissau's opposition leader, Domingos Simões Pereira, was arrested and detained on Friday, accused of involvement in a supposed coup attempt in October 2025. The leader of the historic African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) was taken to the Second Squad of the Public Order Police in Bissau. A military judge ordered his detention.

the process is conducted outside the law

— Pereira's lawyersPereira's lawyers stated they were not notified of the hearing and claimed the legal process was politically motivated.

Pereira's lawyers did not attend the hearing, denouncing that the proceedings were conducted "outside the law." They stated they were not notified and asserted that the case is politically motivated. The order to imprison Pereira is a significant hardening of measures, as the military court had initially ordered house arrest the previous day after a new interrogation.

His defense maintains that Pereira neither participated in nor was aware of any actions aimed at subverting the constitutional order. This is not the first time Pereira has faced detention. He was previously held for about 60 days between November 2025 and January 2026 following his arrest in connection with the November 26, 2025 coup, when the army ousted President Umaro Sissoco Embaló before election results were published. Diplomatic mediation from Senegal secured his release to house arrest in January.

the politician did not participate nor have knowledge of any action to subvert the constitutional order

— Pereira's defensePereira's defense team insists on his innocence regarding the alleged coup attempt.

Embaló, who fled to Senegal after the coup, has been accused by the opposition and civil society organizations of orchestrating the coup to avoid an electoral defeat. The military junta that took power appointed General Horta N'ta as president for a one-year transition period. However, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has rejected this plan, demanding a short transition led by an "inclusive government." The coup led to Guinea-Bissau's suspension from decision-making bodies of ECOWAS and the African Union until constitutional order is restored. The junta has pledged to hold new presidential and legislative elections on December 6. Guinea-Bissau has a history of institutional instability, with four coups since its independence from Portugal in 1974.

ECOWAS has rejected this program and has demanded a short transition led by an 'inclusive government'

— ECOWASThe regional bloc's stance on the proposed transition period following the coup.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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