Yvan Colonna
Encyclopedia
Préfet
A prefect in France is the State's representative in a department or region. Sub-prefects are responsible for the subdivisions of departments, arrondissements...
of Corsica
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
, Claude Erignac
Claude Erignac
Claude Érignac was a former French prefect on the island of Corsica.Érignac was born in Mende, Lozère. In 1996 he went to Ajaccio in Corsica to take office as the Prefect of Corse-du-Sud. He was assassinated at 9:15 p.m. on 6 February 1998. Corsican nationalist militant Yvan Colonna was suspected...
on 6 February 1998. He is the son of Jean-Hugues Colonna, a former deputy (MP) of the French socialist party in the Alpes-Maritimes
Alpes-Maritimes
Alpes-Maritimes is a department in the extreme southeast corner of France.- History : was created by Octavian as a Roman military district in 14 BC, and became a full Roman province in the middle of the 1st century with its capital first at Cemenelum and subsequently at Embrun...
constituency and a recipient of the French Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
.
Resumé
He was born in AjaccioAjaccio
Ajaccio , is a commune on the island of Corsica in France. It is the capital and largest city of the region of Corsica and the prefecture of the department of Corse-du-Sud....
, Corse-du-Sud
Corse-du-Sud
Corse-du-Sud is a French département composed of the southern part of the island of Corsica.- History :The department was formed on 15 September 1975, when the Corse department was divided into Haute-Corse and Corse-du-Sud...
in 1960. In 1975, his family moved to Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
. After he completed his Baccalauréat (French high school), he studied to become a teacher of physical education and sports. He broke off his studies in 1981, returning to Corsica, and moved to Cargèse
Cargèse
Cargèse is a village and commune in the Corse-du-Sud department of France on the west coast of the island of Corsica, 27 km north of Ajaccio...
where his brother later opened a beach bar. There, he took up goat herding, a common occupation in Corsica. He joined a nationalist militant faction close to the FLNC
National Front for the Liberation of Corsica
The National Liberation Front of Corsica is a militant group that advocates an independent state on the island of Corsica, separate from France. They also want all currently imprisoned members of the FLNC in France to be put into Corsican prisons. The organisation's presence is primarily in...
, and is suspected to have been implicated in several terrorist acts in the region. He is notably suspected to have taken part in an attack at the police station in Pietrosella
Pietrosella
Pietrosella is a commune in the Corse-du-Sud department of France on the island of Corsica.-Population:-References:*...
.
Role in the assassination of Prefect Érignac
Claude Erignac
Claude Érignac was a former French prefect on the island of Corsica.Érignac was born in Mende, Lozère. In 1996 he went to Ajaccio in Corsica to take office as the Prefect of Corse-du-Sud. He was assassinated at 9:15 p.m. on 6 February 1998. Corsican nationalist militant Yvan Colonna was suspected...
, was assassinated as he exited a theatre onto rue Colonna-d'Ornano in Ajaccio
Ajaccio
Ajaccio , is a commune on the island of Corsica in France. It is the capital and largest city of the region of Corsica and the prefecture of the department of Corse-du-Sud....
. He was shot receiving three 9 mm bullets in the neck, and died shortly thereafter. The weapon was shown to be one of the weapons stolen in the attack on the Gendarmerie Nationale
Gendarmerie Nationale
Gendarmerie Nationale may refer to:*Gendarmerie Nationale *Gendarmerie Nationale - Merged with Belgian police in 2001.and also:*Gendarmerie Nationale *Gendarmerie Nationale *Gendarmerie Nationale...
station in Pietrosella on 6 September 1997.
An enquiry followed, which resulted in the arrest of several militants. Interrogation pointed towards Yvan Colonna as the culprit. Police went to question him, but he had already fled. This sparked the biggest manhunt in French history, and Colonna was thought to have left the country, possibly for South America. However, an infrared camera set in the mountains of Corsica, near Vico
Vico, Corse-du-Sud
Vico is a commune in the Corse-du-Sud department of France on the island of Corsica.-Population:-References:*...
as surveillance
Surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
of a "bergerie", a traditional Corsican stone hut, yielded evidence that Colonna was hiding here. He was arrested on the 4th of June 2003.
Charged with assassination and being a member of a terrorist organisation, he was arraigned before the court of special cases in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
from 12 November 2007. The court was in session until 12 December 2007. During his internment awaiting trial, he has repeatedly claimed innocence, and that he is the victim of unfair press coverage, convicting him before trial. On 13 December 2007, Colonna was pronounced guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
. He has since appealed.
On 20 June 2011, Colonna's conviction was upheld on appeal. He is currently serving his life sentence in the Toulon-La Farlède detention centre.