Guinea-Bissau’s military government has granted opposition leader Domingos Simoes Pereira permission to leave prison and travel to Portugal to receive medical care, according to his family, who spoke to Reuters.
Pereira, who leads the revolutionary PAIGC party and previously served as the country’s prime minister, was sent back behind bars earlier this month following a ruling by the West African nation’s military court.
The junta that took control of Guinea-Bissau through a coup last year had initially freed Pereira from prison in February, though he remained under house arrest on suspicion of committing economic crimes.
Military authorities have since leveled additional accusations against him, claiming he was involved in an alleged coup attempt in October 2025. His family has firmly denied those allegations and previously expressed serious concern about his health and well-being, noting that no trial date had been scheduled.
The West African regional bloc ECOWAS called on Guinea-Bissau’s government late Monday to unconditionally free all detained political figures, including Pereira.
A family representative, Italma Simoes Pereira, announced late Thursday that the opposition leader had been let go under conditions. “Following international pressure my uncle was ‘conditionally’ released by the military junta and he is on his way to Portugal for medical reasons,” she said.
Portuguese news agency Lusa subsequently reported that Pereira touched down in the capital Lisbon on Friday morning.
