Reporters Without Borders condemns the bombing of journalist Enrico Porsia’s car in the early hours of today outside the house in Conca, near the southern Corsican town of Porto-Vecchio, where he is staying while on vacation. The explosion caused considerable damage to the car but no injuries.

An Italian national who was once a member of the Red Brigades, Porsia has political asylum in France. He works as a journalist based in the Corsican city of Bastia and is in charge of investigative reporting for the Amnistia news website (www.amnistia.net).

“Intimidation attempts of this sort are very cowardly and are indicative of the criminal mentality of the individuals or organisation responsible,” Reporters Without Borders said. “We hope the authorities will investigate this case with the necessary thoroughness.”

Porsia told Reporters Without Borders he did not know if the bombing was the working of “local small-time criminals, Corsican nationalists or a more organised group.” But he added that he was convinced that it was linked to the land development and zoning stories he had been covering for more than a year.

“I have written several stories, especially about Corsica’s sustainable development plan, in which I question the actions of the head of the Corsican government, Ange Santini, and the head of the Corsican parliament, Camille de Rocca Serra,” he said. “It seems some people have taking advantage of the plan to get land rezoned for building that should not have been.”

Regarding the bomb itself, Porsia said: “It went off in the middle of the night. At first I thought there was a storm. Then I went to the window and I saw it was my car. I had received no direct threat. I had of course been given friendly advice but I had never been the target of an attack of this kind.”

Porsia added: “They won’t scare me. The journalist will not abandon his pen and the man will not abandon his village.”

The prosecutor’s office in the Corsican capital of Ajaccio has put the Porto-Vecchio police in charge of the investigation. No group has claimed the bombing and it is not yet known what kind of explosive was used.