A symbolic gesture. Prime Minister Jean Castex announced on Tuesday evening that the independence activist Yvan Colonna, between life and death after being very seriously injured in prison, is no longer considered a “particularly reported detainee” (DPS).
This status, which prevented his bringing him closer to a Corsican prison, had been contested for years by Yvan Colonna, sentenced to life imprisonment for the assassination of the prefect Erignac in 1998. “This decision (…) is based on the particular gravity of the health situation of Mr. Colonna and is based on the opinion issued today by the commission of the central house of Arles”, indicated Matignon.
Angry demonstrations in Corsica
It appears as a gesture of appeasement, confirms a government source, when new angry demonstrations broke out on Tuesday in Corsica. Since the attack on Yvan Colonna a week ago, the circumstances of this “assassination attempt”, which is the subject of a judicial investigation, have sparked numerous demonstrations on the island, nationalists and family of Yvan Colonna accusing the State of an “overwhelming responsibility”.
“The peaceful process of political dialogue must be accompanied by signs of appeasement on the part of the” French government “, had previously declared the League of Human Rights of Corsica, referring in particular to requests for rapprochement towards a Corsican prison of two other members of the commando which killed the prefect Erignac, a rapprochement already demanded by several deputies from all political stripes.
In Paris, the deputies announced that they would audition senior officials of the Penitentiary Administration “on the conditions of surveillance” of Yvan Colonna who was serving his sentence in the prison of Arles, when he was attacked by a convicted fellow prisoner for terrorism.
What is DPS status?
Created in 1970, the directory of “DPS” includes around 350 detainees (out of nearly 70,000 today), explained the Ministry of Justice in 2019. This status is linked to behavior in detention and the risk of escape. It can lead to increased monitoring of written and telephone correspondence, more regular reports on the behavior of the detainee, his mood, and his dress.
Prison staff visit the cell more regularly to check that the detainee is still there, escorts for trips outside the prison can be reinforced, and body or cell searches are more frequent.