Guinea-Bissau journalist, detained for criticizing government, freed
Wed Jun 19, 2:11 PM ET (AP)

LISBON, Portugal - The editor of a Guinea-Bissau newspaper who was detained
two days ago after criticizing the government was freed Wednesday, news
reports said.


Joao de Barros, who owns Correio da Guine-Bissau, was arrested in Bissau,
the capital of the west African country, and went on hunger strike to
protest his detention. He had said on a radio station that
government "squandering" of cash may be responsible for recent military
coup attempts, the Portuguese news agency Lusa reported.

President Kumba Yala accused Barros of "supporting subversives who want to
overthrow the government," Lusa reported.

Opposition politicians and international human rights groups have denounced
the government for alleged heavy-handed treatment of opponents, including
arrests of senior judges and journalists.

Barros was arrested last year after accusing Yala of corruption.

Opposition leaders in Guinea-Bissau charged last week that Yala was
mentally unstable after he threatened to invade Gambia and accused it of
supporting an attempted military coup against him.

The events have further undermined stability in the impoverished former
Portuguese colony of about 1.1 million people, which is struggling to
recover from a devastating 1998 rebellion.

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