The Ajaccio prosecutor was very harsh: " Putting this treasure of biodiversity at risk means threatening our fundamental rules of coexistence ." Magistrate Alexandre Apel made this premise before asking the Ajaccio Court to sentence four Sardinian fishermen (all from Sorso) who in July 2020 were caught inside the Strait of Bonifacio marine reserve , according to prosecutor Apel on board a boat with fishing gear , but without any catch . The prosecutor asked Ajaccio judge Madeleine Kovalevsky to sentence the four to six months in prison with an additional penalty of a fine of twenty thousand euros.

The trial documents include the operation of the marine reserve surveillance personnel, who were also supported by the French Navy in July 2020.

In 2021, a year after the events, the four fishermen were extradited to France . They were arrested and transferred to Bancali prison, headed for Paris.

The four declared themselves innocent and above all they denied having threatened one of the operators of the marine reserve. The civil parties asked for the sentence to pay damages from the marine reserve (100 thousand euros), partly for damages to the image of the institution.

The verdict is scheduled for next May 15th.

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