Yvan Colonna
Corsican nationalist assassin (1960–2022)
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Key Takeaways
- Yvan Colonna (Corsican: Ivanu Colonna , [iˈvanu koˈlɔnna] ; 7 April 1960 – 21 March 2022) was a Corsican nationalist convicted for the 1998 assassination of the prefect of Corse-du-Sud, Claude Érignac.
- Early life Colonna was born in Ajaccio, France, on 7 April 1960.
- His mother was from Laz in Brittany.
- After completing his Baccalauréat (French high school), he studied to become a teacher of physical education and sports, but broke off his studies in 1981.
- He later took up goat herding, a traditional occupation in Corsica, and joined a nationalist militant faction close to the National Liberation Front of Corsica.
Yvan Colonna (Corsican: Ivanu Colonna, [iˈvanu koˈlɔnna]; 7 April 1960 – 21 March 2022) was a Corsican nationalist convicted for the 1998 assassination of the prefect of Corse-du-Sud, Claude Érignac. He was beaten to death in prison by another inmate for "disrespecting Muhammad", sparking riots.
Early life
Colonna was born in Ajaccio, France, on 7 April 1960. He was the son of Jean-Hugues Colonna, a member of the National Assembly for the Socialist Party elected in the Alpes-Maritimes and a recipient of the French Légion d'honneur. His mother was from Laz in Brittany. In 1975, his family moved to Nice. After completing his Baccalauréat (French high school), he studied to become a teacher of physical education and sports, but broke off his studies in 1981. He then went to Corsica and moved to Cargèse, where his brother later opened a beach bar. He later took up goat herding, a traditional occupation in Corsica, and joined a nationalist militant faction close to the National Liberation Front of Corsica. He was suspected in several terrorist acts in the region, and notably to have taken part in an attack on the Pietrosella police station.
Role in the assassination of Prefect Érignac
On 6 February 1998 at 9:05 pm, the prefect of Corsica, Claude Érignac, was assassinated as he exited a theatre onto rue Colonna-d'Ornano in Ajaccio. He was shot in the neck with three 9 mm bullets and died shortly thereafter. The weapon was later found to be one of the guns stolen in the attack on the Gendarmerie station in Pietrosella on 6 September 1997.
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