Guinea-Bissau’s Minister of Justice, Fernando Mendonça, has sacked Melancio Correia from his role as the Director of the National Interpol Office.
Correia has, consequently, been replaced with former Attorney General, Bacari Biai, a statement from the government has said.
His removal comes hours after the lawyers of former Prime Minister, Domingos Simoes Pereira, criticised his involvement in the attempt to execute an international arrest warrant issued on 12 December 2019 against the politician by the public prosecutor, Fernando Gomes.
Mr Pereira’s lawyers accused Mr Correia of “misconduct” when he agreed to the request for the issuance of an international arrest warrant “even though the measure did not comply with legal formalities”.
In Interpol’s response to the request by the Guinean prosecutor, to which Mr Pereira’s lawyers had access, it is mentioned that Article 3 of that organisation’s constitution states that it is “strictly forbidden for the organisation to undertake any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character.”