Condamned for complicity in the assassination of the prefect Claude Erignac, Pierre Alessandri and Alain Ferrandi have been imprisoned for nearly twenty-four years. They have been eligible for parole for more than five years. In the spring of 2022, they were finally brought together in Borgo prison, near Bastia. These rapprochements are not the result of the simple application of the law that elected officials of all tendencies, in Corsica and at the national level, have constantly recalled in recent years. They come after several weeks of riots in Ajaccio, Bastia, Corte and Porto-Vecchio, following the assassination of Yvan Colonna in Arles prison.
Once again, the recent history between the Republic and Corsica does not seem to be useful for understanding the present. Since the events in Aleria in 1975, relations between the two parties have been part of cycles of violence and negotiation to the detriment of lasting appeasement. The situation of the two men seems to be bogged down again. To date, there is no prospect of parole.
Can we for a single moment reasonably think that their rapprochement with the Borgo prison could constitute the last stage of their judicial journey? Can we imagine that they will end their life in prison with the sole reprieve of visits from their relatives in the visiting room! It’s time to dare the future for Pierre Alessandri and Alain Ferrandi, but also for Corsica. The dialogue initiated between Corsica and Paris can only be sustained over time if and only if justice ceases to be confused with the law of retaliation.
Put an end to the misunderstandings that fuel violence
To do this, it suffices to respect the European penitentiary rules to which France adheres, in particular those which “recognizes that prisoners, convicted or not, will one day return to live in free society and that prison life must be organized in such a way as to take this fact into account”. We do not forget this other expectation of justice at the origin of the revolt of Corsican youth at the beginning of this year: the truth about the assassination of Yvan Colonna, the whole truth, nothing but the truth. A first step has been taken in this direction with the publication of the report of the General Inspectorate of Justice on the functioning of the central house in Arles and the responsibilities incurred following “aggression” by Ivan Colonna.
However, many questions remain unanswered, in particular on the importance given to the reserved and very reserved opinions of the anti-terrorist judicial authorities relating to the assignment and transfer to another prison, to the radicalization assessment unit (QER) of the ‘aggressor. Indeed, according to the authors of this report, these opinions went beyond the competence of these authorities, specifying that “a QER assignment… would have been useful from 2019” and therefore prior to the attack.
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