Government asks Portugal to extradite Vieira

Guinea-Bissau has asked Portugal to consider its request for the extradition of ousted president Joao Nino Vieira, Portuguese Renascenca radio reported on Wednesday. Guinea-Bissau Attorney General Amine Saad, who arrived in Lisbon on Tuesday, handed documents to his Portuguese counterpart, Cunha Rodrigues, concerning a court case against Vieira in Bissau. Vieira, who was allowed out of the country to seek medical treatment in France, is wanted for what is broadly described by the new authorities in Bissau as crimes against the state.He is charged with torturing and executing opposition members following an alleged coup attempt in 1985, and for treason relating to the military uprising in 1998. Saad told Renascenca that Guinea-Bissau had given the Portuguese Public Prosecutor’s office enough evidence for it to consider the extradition. Saad said the bid to try Vieira was not an attempt at revenge but was one of justice required in a democratic society. Saad said he would discuss the extradition request again with Rodrigues in Lunada, where both men are to attend a conference of attorneys general of the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries.