Human rights activists have accused authorities in Guinea-Bissau of trying to silence opponents through a growing wave of political violence and arbitrary detentions following the Nov. 26 military coup.
The army seized power, confiscated ballots, destroyed servers containing the results of the Nov. 23 presidential election, and banned demonstrations. The moves were followed by a crackdown on critics and civil society groups.
“A climate of generalized fear now prevails in the country,” Bubacar Turé, head of Liga Guineense dos Direitos Humanos, one of Guinea-Bissau’s leading human rights organizations, told OCCRP on Tuesday.
Security forces last week blocked access to the headquarters of Turé’s organization after it held a vigil calling for the release of politicians and citizens detained following the military takeover.
According to a statement by the group, military police “invaded” its offices at the House of Rights in the capital, Bissau, on the night of Dec. 22, forcibly expelling staff and detaining two employees. The group said the employees were taken to the Interior Ministry and “violently beaten” before being released. It described the operation as “unprecedented” and an “extremely serious act of institutional violence.” The Interior Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Hours before the police action, Turé had denounced at the vigil the conditions in which political detainees were being held, saying they were kept in cells without electricity, drinking water, or adequate ventilation. He said such conditions violated Guinea-Bissau’s constitution and international human rights standards. He also condemned what the group described as the arbitrary detention of senior opposition figures after the coup, including PAIGC leader Domingos Simões Pereira, as well as dozens of other citizens.
Last week, the United Nations human rights office urged an end to “all arbitrary detentions and all forms of intimidation,” including physical attacks on human rights defenders.
International bodies have also raised concerns. The African Union suspended Guinea-Bissau on Nov. 28, and the European Parliament adopted a resolution on Dec. 18 calling for the “immediate and unconditional release of political opposition leaders” and condemning the “disproportionate use of force by security forces against the population.”
Despite those calls, the Liga Guineense dos Direitos Humanos said it has documented a series of violent attacks against political figures and commentators.
Family sources cited by the group said Abubacar Martins Sambú, coordinator of the Movimento Guineense para a Democracia e o Desenvolvimento, was assaulted at his home on Dec. 27 by armed, hooded men. The following day, lawyer and political commentator Dr. Augusto Nansambe was reportedly abducted by armed men and taken to an unknown location, the group said.
“These violations are not isolated acts,” Turé said. They represent a “systematic pattern of intimidation and abuse aimed at suppressing dissent.”
Guinea-Bissau’s transitional authorities have not publicly commented on the allegations involving the human rights group or on the broader claims of abuses.
