EU calls for the release of detainees in Guinea-Bissau

Brussels – The European Union (EU) today called for the release of all detainees in Guinea-Bissau and the swift return of the country to constitutional order, following the military coup led on Wednesday.
“We insist on the need for the release of all detainees,” said the spokesperson for the European Commission for Foreign Affairs Anouar El Anouni.
“We welcome the release yesterday [Thursday] of President Umaro Sissoco Embaló,” added the spokesperson for the community executive.
Embaló, ousted on Wednesday by a military coup, was released and transported to Senegal on Thursday.
El Anouni also reiterated the call for “a swift return to constitutional order and the resumption of the electoral process.”
The EU wants to see the vote counting process completed, urging that the election results be accepted by all parties.
The military junta that took power in Guinea-Bissau appointed General Horta Inta-A as transitional President for a period of one year.
The military announced the suspension of the electoral process on the eve of the announcement of the results of the general elections on November 23.
The elections, which took place without any incidents reported, were held without the participation of the main opposition party, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), and its candidate, Domingos Simões Pereira, who were excluded from the electoral race, detained in the meantime, and who declared support for the opposing candidate Fernando Dias da Costa.
The opposition, which claimed victory in the presidential elections, denounces the military intervention as a maneuver orchestrated by the outgoing President to prevent the disclosure of the electoral results. (28/11/25)