Guinea-Bissau: Opposition Leader Interrogated Over Coup Plot
Guinea-Bissau opposition leader Domingos Simões Pereira returned to house arrest on Thursday after grueling questioning at the Superior Military Court in Bissau. Simões Pereira, the president of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), was interrogated for over three hours as a formal suspect in an alleged October 2025 coup attempt.
Defense Claims Innocence Following Tense Hearing
Speaking to reporters outside the court in the Santa Luzia neighborhood, defense attorney Roberto Indeque confirmed that while his client remains under detention at home, no new restrictive measures were added to his status. Indeque expressed confidence that the session proved Simões Pereira’s innocence.
“The court was properly informed; it has been definitively resolved that Domingos Simões Pereira never had knowledge of, nor was he involved in, any process to alter the constitutional order,” Indeque stated. He noted that although the hearing began with a “tense” atmosphere, it concluded in “total cordiality” as the politician answered all questions posed by the judges.
A Nation in Political Flux
The legal proceedings stem from an alleged coup plot on October 25, 2025, which occurred just weeks before scheduled general elections. Simões Pereira was initially summoned as a witness in February, but his status was upgraded to “suspect” on June 1. Despite the PAIGC’s claims of victory in the November elections, a separate successful military coup later ousted the government and interrupted the electoral process altogether.
Following two months in jail, Simões Pereira was transitioned to house arrest in January. On Thursday, he was escorted back to his residence in the Luanda neighborhood by the same military and police units that have patrolled his home since the beginning of the year.
Uncertain Road to December Elections
The military junta currently in power has scheduled new general elections for December 6, but the legal battles surrounding the country’s most prominent opposition figure continue to cast a shadow over the transition. The defense team has submitted several motions to the court, the outcomes of which are still pending.
Reporting on the ground in Guinea-Bissau remains restricted. The government recently expelled representatives of Portuguese media outlets, forcing news agencies like Lusa to cover these developments remotely.
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