Five people suspected of belonging to the Ghjuventu Clandestina Corsa movement (“Corsican clandestine youth”, GCC) have been indicted in Paris, a judicial source announced on Saturday July 1 to Agence France-Presse (AFP). Three were placed in pre-trial detention, the other two under judicial control.

Eight people were arrested on Monday in Corsica as part of a judicial investigation for acts qualified as terrorists, the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office said on Monday. Five had been arrested in Corse-du-Sud, three in Haute-Corse, sources familiar with the matter told AFP.

At the end of their police custody, five people were presented to an investigating judge of the anti-terrorism unit of the Paris court, Friday at the end of the day. They have all been indicted for terrorist criminal association, said the same source. The counts of violation of the legislation on weapons and/or destruction or degradation by dangerous means for people for certain facts, in connection with a terrorist enterprise, were also retained.

Fires and explosive charges

According to the Corsican associations for the defense of prisoners, at least a 16-year-old minor is among the defendants. Three people have seen their police custody lifted without prosecution at this stage, added the judicial source.

“The means and methods used are disproportionate in view of the circumstances of the case and in consideration of the facts which can actually be attributed to them”, reacted to AFP the counsel of two suspects, Eric Barbolosi. For the lawyer, the indicted “are still children and they find themselves confronted with the anti-terrorism jurisdiction”.

The GCC had announced its creation at the beginning of February, claiming on this occasion 17 actions against second homes, buildings under construction, construction companies and tourist establishments. For a year and a half, several dozen residences, most often secondary, have been affected by arson or explosive charges, with or without the presence of tags, on this Mediterranean island where nationalist demands are strong.