Guinea-Bissau Military Court Returns Opposition Leader to Prison

A military court in Guinea-Bissau has ordered the country’s main opposition leader, Domingos Simões Pereira, back into pre-trial detention over allegations linking him to a 2025 coup attempt and separate financial crimes.

Pereira, leader of the PAIGC party that led the West African nation to independence from Portugal in 1974, appeared before the court on Friday before being taken under heavy security escort to the Segunda Esquadra Prison in the capital, Bissau.

He was among several senior politicians detained after the military seized power in a November 2025 coup that ousted President Umaro Sissoco Embaló just days after presidential and legislative elections. Pereira was released to house arrest in January but now faces renewed detention pending further legal proceedings.

Authorities accuse Pereira of helping to finance an October 2025 coup attempt, as well as involvement in a separate failed takeover in 2023. His legal team and the PAIGC have dismissed the allegations as politically motivated, arguing they are designed to bar him from contesting a presidential election scheduled for December 6.

Guinea-Bissau has experienced five successful coups and numerous attempted takeovers since gaining independence, with chronic poverty and political instability contributing to the country’s reputation as a hub for drug trafficking in West Africa.

The ruling adds fresh uncertainty to Guinea-Bissau’s political transition process, with the ruling military administration having pledged to hand over power within a year of the November coup, a timeline that now faces growing scrutiny given the deepening standoff with opposition figures.