Corsican nationalist Colonna dies nearly three weeks after assault in prison

Issued on: 21/03/2022 – 22:29

Colonna, who had been jailed for life over the murder in 1998 of Corsica’s top regional official, died in the evening in hospital in the southern French city of Marseille, his lawyer Patrice Spinosi told AFP on behalf of the family.

A police source, who asked not to be named, also confirmed to AFP that Colonna, 61, had died.

“The family requests that its grief is respected and will be making no comment,” Spinosi added.

One of France’s most prominent prisoners, he was left in a coma after being beaten on March 2 in jail by a fellow detainee serving time for terror offences.

The incident stoked anger on the island, where some still see Colonna as a hero in a fight for independence, and sparked the worst clashes for years between protesters and police.

Five-year manhunt

Colonna was arrested in 2003 after a five-year manhunt that eventually found him living as a shepherd in the Corsican mountains.

He was then sentenced to life for the assassination in 1998 of Corsica’s top regional official Claude Erignac.

In a bid to dampen local anger over his prison assault, the French judiciary on March 17 suspended Colonna’s prison sentence for medical reasons.

In a surprise move, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin also said in a newspaper interview last week that the government could be prepared to offer Corsica autonomy.

President Emmanuel Macron then said that the issue of autonomy of Corsica should not be a “taboo debate”.

But he added there must be an end to the unrest before a discussion gets underway. “It is a debate that cannot take place until there is absolute calm,” he said.

Colonna’s assailant Franck Elong Abe, who had been jailed for terror-related offences, has been charged with another terror offence for the attack on Colonna.

Prosecutors have said he attacked his fellow inmate after being angered by his “blaspheming”.

(AFP)