Incarcerated since May 1999 and sentenced to perpetuity in July 2003 for the assassination of the prefect, he is currently serving his sentence in Borgo prison, in Haute-Corse.
By Yves Bordenave (Ajaccio, Special Envoy)
The tribunal for the application of anti-terrorist penalties (Tapat) granted, Thursday, February 23, a semi-like of a probationary year to a parole to Alain Ferrandi, one of the assassins of the prefect Claude Erignac, fell under The balls of the killers, on February 6, 1998, in Ajaccio. Incarcerated since May 1999 and sentenced to life in July 2003, Alain Ferrandi, 62, purges his sentence in Borgo prison (Haute-Corse), where he was transferred in April 2022. While island representatives and government must resume Their discussions on a possible evolution of the institutional status of the island, Friday, February 24, at the Ministry of the Interior, the news was welcomed with satisfaction and relief in Corsica. However, this tapat decision remains suspended from the agreement of the National Anti -terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT) which has ten days to appeal.
A year ago almost day, on February 24, 2022, the judge to apply anti-terrorist sentences had already responded favorably to a semi-freedom request filed by the Corsican detainee. But, three months later, on May 24, 2022, the court of appeal seized by the PNAT had rejected this first instance decision. And this, as the Court pointed out in its motivations, despite the “satisfactory evolution” of Alain Ferrandi. “The persistence of a dangerousness of the condemned or a risk of recurrence (…) cannot be reasonably supported”, noted the appeal judges who, to justify their position, were alarmed by the resurgence of tensions on the Island, following the deadly assault against Yvan Colonna, on March 2, 2022, at Arles prison (Bouches-du-Rhône).
According to appeal magistrates, the partial release of Alain Ferrandi in the “very violent” context which weighed Corsica during this period, was “likely to cause a serious public disorder”. An appreciation deemed “pernicious and perverse”, by M e Françoise Davideau, Alain Ferrandi’s lawyer. “A vengeance disguised as a legal,” deplored Gilles Simeoni, the autonomist president of the Corsican community. In 2019, Alain Ferrandi, released since May 2017, had already suffered a refusal of his request for probationary semi-freedom, confirmed on appeal in 2020.
Different political situation
If it claims the same approach to applying the law as the previous ones, this third request is part of a very different political situation. Since the death of Yvan Colonna and the anger it has caused, justice has had to influence its position vis-à-vis the assassins of the prefect Claude Erignac. Until March 2022, the institution remained deaf to their requests, especially those many times formulated by a rapprochement. The three assassins of the prefect could not hope for it, the prison establishment of Borgo not being empowered to accommodate particularly monitored prisoners (DPS), a regime under which they were placed since their imprisonment.
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