In a statement, the high commissioner, Volker Türk, said that among the people who “were arbitrarily detained” were “government officials, magistrates and opposition leaders”
The United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, denounced today that “at least 18 people” were detained in Wednesday’s coup d’état in Guinea-Bissau and called for human rights to be respected.
In a statement, the high commissioner said that among the people who “were arbitrarily detained” were “government officials, magistrates and opposition leaders”.
The majority of those detained are “incommunicado”, according to the statement dated Geneva, which states that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights “asked on Friday the military authorities of Guinea-Bissau to respect and protect human rights”.
The request comes, the statement reads, “following reports of politically motivated arrests and the use of unnecessary or disproportionate force following the coup d’état of November 26”.
“I am deeply alarmed by reports of human rights violations in Guinea-Bissau following the coup, including arbitrary arrests and detentions of government officials and opposition leaders, as well as threats and intimidation against media outlets and journalists,” says Volker Türk, quoted in the statement.
The High Commissioner stresses that it is “fundamental that military authorities respect international human rights norms and standards, including ensuring that all arbitrarily detained individuals are immediately and unconditionally released”.
The representative further describes that after the military coup, “which occurred while the people of Guinea-Bissau awaited the results of the presidential and parliamentary elections held on November 23, several independent radio stations were temporarily closed during illegal invasions of their facilities”.
Access to the internet and social media was also interrupted on Wednesday and Thursday, according to the report.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights also expresses concern “about reports that security forces used unnecessary or disproportionate force, including live ammunition, to disperse peaceful protesters following the coup in the capital, Bissau.”
“Military authorities must guarantee full respect for the fundamental freedoms of all, including the right to peaceful assembly”, he appeals.
The position of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is in line with “the strong condemnation of the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, to the seizure of power by the military, and with the call for the immediate and unconditional restoration of constitutional order in Guinea-Bissau”.
Volker Türk also expresses “concern about the decision of the military authorities to suspend the electoral process”, which he classifies as “a violation of citizens’ right to participate in the country’s public affairs”.
A group of military men took power in Guinea-Bissau, removed the outgoing President, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, who left the country, and suspended the publication of the results of the general elections on November 23.
General Horta Inta-A was sworn in as transitional President for a period of one year and appointed Ilídio Vieira Té, former minister of Embaló, as Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.
The elections, which took place without any incidents, 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, excluded from the dispute and who declared support for the opposition candidate Fernando Dias da Costa.
Simões Pereira was detained and the military’s seizure of power is being denounced by the opposition as a maneuver to prevent the dissemination of election results.
