2024-03-20 14:26:11
In a letter addressed to the anti-terrorism investigating judge, Franck Elong Abé, indicted and in pre-trial detention for “the assassination in connection with a terrorist enterprise” of Yvan Colonna on March 2, 2022 at Arles prison, reconsiders his statements and accuses the State services and the DGSI (Directorate General of Internal Security) of having ordered his death.
These four pages, which RCFM was able to consult, written by the inmate S in his cell at the Santé prison on February 14, 2024, and received by the magistrate on February 21, 2024, call into question his initial version where he indicated having killed the nationalist activist due to a “blasphemy”. They are now included in the file and included in the procedure, confirmed a judicial source, but have not yet been verified. They also present elements ranging from excess to inconsistency and include many inaccuracies.
These statements come almost two years to the day after the death of Yvan Colonna, which occurred on March 21, 2022, three weeks after his attack. The Corsican nationalist, convicted of the assassination of prefect Claude Erignac on February 6, 1998 in Ajaccio, was serving a life sentence and requested his rapprochement with Corsica. According to the instruction, Yvan Colonna was strangled on March 2 around 9 a.m. by his fellow inmate, Franck Elong Abé, in the gym.
“DGSI strategists” accused
To the judge whom he describes as “puppet”, Franck Elong Abé promised “give all the details of the story” and one “big unpacking at the trial”. Without specifying the name of his possible contact, nor of the putative sponsors, the accused who has already been heard on multiple occasions, by the investigators, then the judge, turns around and considers having been “tricked by false promises in exchange for a large sum of money”. “These people never intended to pay me, they used me like an idiot,” pursues the inmate convicted of Islamism who does not have a lawyer to represent him, “it turns out, obviously, that these manipulators are the strategists of the DGSI”. According to his claims, “less than 10 years in prison” would have been promised to him and “100,000 euros per year in prison”.
Another element of the missive, Franck Elong Abé claims to have been the holder of a “secure phone” with whom he says he communicated. “Why does this phone not appear anywhere in the file and why is the defense secret displayed instead?” he raises, declaring that it was through this telephone that his unidentified interlocutor made him listen to “the mean things that Yvan Colonna said”. Deducing that this same audio recording was made by a “artificial intelligence”. “You used me to kill Yvan. Then bury me alive. Well done DGSI. Well done state services”concludes the letter, without supporting the point.
All of these uncorroborated statements which attest to the thesis of a conspiracy emanating from the dark side of the State add confusion to a file which already contains gray areas. The national anti-terrorism prosecution must communicate on this subject.
Colonna family lawyers cautious
But the civil party’s lawyers have already reacted. Me Dominique Paolini, counsel for Yvan Colonna’s brother and his parents, considered that it was appropriate to take these new elements “with caution, but nevertheless with interest”. “It is a very detailed letter in which he mentions a certain number of State services for which he would have acted,” said to RCFM Me Paolini refusing to comment on the content, due to the “secret de l’instruction”.
Her colleague, Me Anna Maria Sollacaro, civil party on behalf of Christine Colonna, sister of the victim, showed the same caution, but nevertheless indicated her client’s position: “The content of this letter sheds additional light on his intimate convictions”. Both wrote to the magistrate to request that Franck Elong Abé be interviewed in their presence.
Me Jean-François Casalta, lawyer for Yvan Colonna’s widow, Stéphanie Colonna and her young son, also requested that investigations be carried out to verify these statements.
“Totally false” and “baseless” allegations
A source close to the matter confirmed the existence of this letter: “It is correct that following his last interrogation during which he gave a completely different version of the facts, Franck Elong Abé wrote to the investigating magistrate to discuss an act sponsored by individuals presenting themselves under a false identity but being DGSI agents who allegedly ordered him to assassinate Yvan Colonna.
“The psychiatric state of Franck Elong Abé, whose experts concluded that he had had a impaired discernment, and the inconsistency of part of his writing lead us to consider his new statements with the greatest caution.continued the same source. “In any case, in view of the usual working methods, the investigating judge will hear the person indicted on these new statements and their context.”
Furthermore, Camille Chaize, spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior and Overseas Territories, debunked these allegations without responding on the merits of a case covered by the secrecy of the investigation: “These allegations are completely false and are unfounded. The services of the Ministry of the Interior do not sponsor assassinations or attacks against anyone. These are not practices that exist. A legal procedure is currently in progress. course on this subject and the investigating judge may perhaps be able to give you more information.”
The fatal attack on Yvan Colonna triggered urban violence which led to the opening of negotiations between the government and the island for autonomy in March 2022. A process which came to an end in March 2024 and which could succeed to one constitutional revision in the fall. During these events, nationalists had targeted a “state revenge”supporting a conspiracy thesis emanating from “the deep state”. A parliamentary commission of inquiry, under the aegis of the deputy for Haute-Corse, Jean-Félix Acquaviva, had pointed out the dysfunctions of the prison administration. A general inspection of the services noted the same errors.
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