Overview
- The chamber of instruction of the Paris court of appeal confirmed on Monday, July 6, 2026 that Franck Elong Abé will be tried before the special assizes in Paris for assassination in relation to a terrorist enterprise.
- Paris examining judges concluded in April that Colonna’s death was the direct result of extreme violence and several minutes of suffocation and that Elong Abé showed a clear will to kill.
- Elong Abé has been classified as a détenu particulièrement signalé (DPS) since November 2015 and was serving multiple sentences, including nine years for association with a terrorist group.
- A May 2023 parliamentary inquiry found serious failings in how authorities assessed Elong Abé and managed Colonna’s detention, the State was ordered to pay €75,000 to Colonna’s heirs in February 2025, and a preliminary probe into the prison administration was closed without further action in 2025.
- Colonna’s family lawyers say fundamental questions remain, noting Elong Abé’s shifting claims about a lone act or a commissioned attack, and they want a public trial that could force wider scrutiny of penitentiary failures and political fallout in Corsica.