by Chen Shun
DAKAR, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Guinea-Bissau's former president Koumba Yalla who was linked to the No. 23 coup attempt, is allowed to go abroad for medical treatment after a ban on his departure from the tiny West African country was lifted.
Information from Bissau, the capital of Guinea-Bissau, said that Prosecutor General Luis Manel Cabral lifted the ban on Monday, authorizing his trip abroad for medical care.
Cabral said Yalla, who is ill, could stay abroad as long as he needs a cure.
Yalla had been forbidden to leave the country under a judicial ruling since Nov. 21 when he entered into legal procedures for accusing President Joao Bernado Vieira of involvement in drug deals.
One day ahead of the mutiny, Yalla received a subpoena from Cabral asking him to answer questions on his legal suit against President Vieira.
The legal procedures are still effective, although they are interrupted upon notice for Yalla's health reason, Cabral maintained.
The presidential office linked Yalla to the coup attempt after renegade soldiers launched a pre-dawn attack on his residence.
A number of mutineers have been arrested including Yalla's nephew, navy sergeant Tchama Yala who went into hiding after the attack before being captured in neighboring Gambia.
Cabral said the necessary procedure was launched on Monday to extradite Yalla's nephew, who is now taken in custody in Senegal.
Yalla is allowed to go abroad after he recognized the victory of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC) in the Nov. 16 legislative election. He had previously rejected the election results, saying the polls were rigged.
The vote is internationally seen as a success, in which about 20 parties contended for the 100 seats in the National Assembly. The PAIGC won 67 seats, followed by Yalla's Party of Social Renovation which garnered 28 seats.
Guinea-Bissau won its independence from Portugal in 1974. The country of 1.5 million population has witnessed military coups and a civil war between 1998 and 1999.
