Relatives of dead soldier want autopsy in Portugal

Relatives of army Lt-Col Baba Djassi, who died one day after being taken from prison to a clinic, have asked for his remains to be flown to Portugal for a second autopsy, a humanitarian source in Bissau told IRIN.

Djassi was among suspected former supporters of late military strongman General Ansumane Mane who were detained after Mane's unsuccessful bid in November 2000 to seize control of the armed forces. An autopsy was performed on Djassi on Thursday in Bissau but a lawyer for his family asked permission from the state to have his body sent to Portugal. The public prosecutor's office said the request could not be granted, according to the source.

Other prisoners have expressed fear that Djassi's death was unnatural and that they might also be in danger, the source said.

About 100 people arrested following Mane's mutiny are still awaiting trial. Guinea-Bissau's government has blamed the delay on a lack of resources. About two weeks ago it appealed to the United Nations for material assistance, the humanitarian source said. "Guinea-Bissau does not have resources," the source told IRIN. "The conditions do not exist for a proper dispensation of justice."

Basic supplies such as paper are lacking and the three magistrates working on the preliminary investigation into the cases share one typewriter, the source said, adding that legal staff are poorly paid when they are not owed salaries, and are often poorly motivated.