The former armed forces chief, General José Zamora Induta, was released from prison in late December, along with the former head of the military information services, Colonel Samba Djaló, and five other officers who had been arrested following the double assassination in March 2009 of the army chief-of-staff, General Tagme Na Wai, and the president, João Bernardo Vieira. Their release took place a few days after the European Commission proposed opening consultations with the government, partly in response to cases of illegal detention by the army. General Induta and Colonel Djaló had been arrested immediately after the mutiny of 1st April 2010 and detained thereafter in army barracks in Mansâo, 60 km north of Bissau (July 2010, The political scene). General Induta had been accused by his former deputy and the current armed forces chief, General António Indjai, of plotting to murder military officers, including him, and of embezzling army funds. However, no charges have been brought against him so far. General Induta, who has been placed under house arrest and forbidden to leave the country, said that he had been released on the orders of General Indjai, who had acted upon the request of the president, Malam Bacai Sanhá, and of the government.