Alessandri’s sentence adjustment request will be re-examined

The Court of Cassation on Wednesday annulled a decision of the Paris Court of Appeal having refused a sentence adjustment to Pierre Alessandri, sentenced to life imprisonment in 2003 for the assassination of the prefect Erignac, and ordered that this request be re-examined.

The highest court of the judiciary considered that in its judgment of October 2021 the chamber for the application of sentences of the Paris Court of Appeal had not « justified its decision » to refuse a postponement. freely.

“It is a great victory which opens the way to a possible conditional release of Pierre Alessandri”, greeted in a declaration Me Patrice Spinosi, the lawyer of the Corsican detainee at the Court of Cassation.

« Disorder to public order »

Imprisoned since 1999, releasable since 2017, Pierre Alessandri has made three requests for sentence adjustment in semi-freedom.

Each time, in October 2019, in July 2021, then in May 2022, the court for the application of anti-terrorism sentences had given the green light to a conditional release with probationary semi-release, but the decisions had been reversed by the court of appeal after a suspensive appeal by the national anti-terrorist prosecutor’s office (Pnat).

Pierre Alessandri had appealed against the second refusal of justice to grant him this adjustment of sentence.

In its judgment, the Court of Cassation recalls that the judges had notably reasoned that a release of Pierre Alessandri was « always likely to cause a serious disturbance to public order », also with regard to « violent actions of a terrorist nature still perpetrated to date for other causes on French territory » and that « the exemplary function of the sentence (remained) essential ».

« Terrorist Threat »

« In deciding in this way, (…) and without characterizing, in a concrete way, that his release would, in itself, be likely to cause a serious disturbance to public order, the enforcement chamber penalties did not justify its decision », considered the high court.

“In the name of the right to reintegration, the Court of Cassation requires the next Court of Appeal which will have to rule to take into consideration the reality of the situation of the convicted person and not abstract reasons relating to the seriousness of the facts prosecuted or the state of the terrorist threat currently in France », underlined Me Spinosi.

Pierre Alessandri and the other member of the Erignac commando still alive, Alain Ferrandi, were transferred in April to Borgo prison (Haute-Corse), a promise from Matignon after the fatal attack in detention of Yvan Colonna.