Pope shot by Armenian gunman

[Hovik]

Turk's Release May Clear Vatican Mystery

Turk's Release May Clear Vatican Mystery

By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press WriterMon Jan 9, 7:31 PM ET

The release of the Turk who shot Pope John Paul II may shed light on a quarter-century-old mystery: the disappearance of the teenage daughter of a Vatican employee who was abducted by kidnappers claiming they were seeking to win the gunman's freedom.

Emanuela Orlandi's family has asked prosecutors to reopen the case because "new elements" have emerged that warrant investigation, the family's lawyer, Massimo Krogh, told The Associated Press on Monday.

He declined to speculate on whether the release of Mehmet Ali Agca, who turned 48 on Monday, from a Turkish prison would affect the case. But he cautioned that Agca has been a highly inconsistent witness over the years.

"He has said so many things. One cannot trust him," Krogh said.

Another investigator, however, said Agca's release can only help the investigation into Orlandi's disappearance, although prosecutors haven't decided whether to reopen the case.

Agca is to be freed on parole Thursday because he has completed his prison term for crimes committed in Turkey, a Turkish military court ruled last week.

An official, speaking on condition of anonymity Monday because he was not authorized to speak to the press, said Monday that Agca may still face trial in Turkey for allegedly dodging the draft and escaping military custody. The inmate's lawyer said that was unlikely, suggesting that Agca's time in prison would cover the time he would have served for those crimes as well.

The lawyer, Mustafa Demirbag, said Agca would likely be taken to a military station following his release and later to a military hospital in Istanbul for medical checks, a routine procedure.

"He has no plans for the future for now, but he is looking forward to his freedom," Demirbag told The Associated Press by telephone.

Agca was extradited to Turkey in 2000 after serving almost 20 years in prison in Italy for shooting and wounding the pope on May 13, 1981, in St. Peter's Square.

Orlandi, the daughter of a Vatican messenger, disappeared after a music lesson in Rome on June 22, 1983. She was 15 at the time. Her self-proclaimed kidnappers demanded Agca's release for her freedom, although they never offered any proof they had the girl or that she was alive.

Krogh said the Orlandi family believes that Emanuela's disappearance and the attempt on John Paul's life were connected and that the kidnappers wanted to exchange her for Agca. But asked whether Agca's release might also mean freedom for Orlandi, Krogh responded: "I frankly cannot say."

However, Judge Ferdinando Imposimato, who once headed the investigation into the attempt on John Paul's life, said Agca's freedom could only help the investigation.

Imposimato has maintained Agca was directed by Bulgarian agents and had been approached by a Soviet general in the KGB before the shooting. A Bulgarian-Soviet connection has long been suspected because of Soviet alarm over the pope's support for the Solidarity trade union in Poland.

But Italian investigators never found any hard evidence and John Paul himself ruled out any Bulgarian role during a 2002 trip to that country, declaring he had "never believed in the so-called Bulgarian connection because of my great esteem and respect for the people."

Imposimato told the Apcom news agency that Agca's freedom, and any possible new testimony, "could help resolve the mystery of the disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi."

He acknowledged in an interview with the ANSA news agency, however, that it was unlikely Italian investigators would ever get a chance to question Agca, "even if Agca promised to cooperate after his release."

Agca spoke about Orlandi during a 1985 prison interview with Italy's RAI state television, saying the girl was alive and not in danger. He denied any direct knowledge of her fate, though, saying he had made "some logical deductions."

He said then that he wished she would be freed "without any precondition."

The Vatican, meanwhile, has limited its reaction to Agca's pending release, stressing that it defers to the Turkish judicial system.

Papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls recalled on Vatican Radio Monday that John Paul had personally pardoned Agca while still hospitalized after the attempt on his life, saying "I pardon the brother who struck me." John Paul also forgave Agca during a 1983 prison visit.

But Navarro-Valls stressed the Vatican never interfered in either the Italian or Turkish court processes or Italy's decision to pardon him and extradite him to Turkey.

___

Associated Press writer Selcan Hacaoglu in Ankara, Turkey, contributed to this story.

[Hovik]

John Paul II's Would-Be Assassin Released

John Paul II's Would-Be Assassin Released

By SELCAN HACAOGLU, Associated Press Writer 5 minutes ago

The man who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981 was released from prison Thursday after serving more than 25 years in Italy and Turkey for the plot against the pontiff and the slaying of a Turkish journalist.

To the cheers of nationalist supporters, a white sedan whisked Mehmet Ali Agca — whose attempt to assassinate the pope gained notoriety for himself and shame for his homeland — through the gates of the high-security Kartal Prison as dozens of police officers stood guard. His supporters showered the car with red and yellow flowers.

But Turkey's justice minister later said authorities will review Agca's release to make sure there were no errors in the handling of the complicated case. He said Agca's release was not "a guaranteed right."

Agca, 48, wearing a blue sweater and jeans, was freed five years after he was pardoned by Italy and extradited to Turkey. He had served 20 years in prison in Italy, where John Paul forgave him in a visit to his cell in 1983.

"We are happy. We endlessly thank the Turkish state," said his brother, Adnan.

He said one of the first things Agca wanted to do was order a typical Turkish meal of beans and rice at a restaurant overlooking the Bosporus Strait, the narrow waterway that bisects Istanbul and joins the European and Asian continents.

Immediately after his release, Agca reported to a military recruitment center and a hospital, both routine procedures, said his lawyer Mustafa Demirbag.

Agca shot the pope as he rode in an open car in St. Peter's Square in Rome on May 13, 1981, and was captured immediately afterward. John Paul was hit in the abdomen, left hand and right arm but recovered because the bullets missed vital organs. Two years after the shooting, the pope met with Agca in prison and forgave him.

Agca's motive remains unclear.

After Agca was extradited back to Turkey, he was convicted of the killing of a left-wing columnist, Abdi Ipekci, in 1979. A court last week decided to release Agca on parole based on credit for time served and recent Turkish penal reforms, Demirbag said.

Many Turks expressed surprise and outrage at the court's ruling, including Ipekci's family.

"Agca is not just the murderer of my father, Abdi Ipekci. I see him as our national assassin," his daughter, Nukhet Ipekci, said Wednesday in a letter on the front page of her father's former newspaper, Milliyet.

Added Deniz Ergin, a 23-year-old university student: "A murderer like him who has stained Turkey's image should not be released."

But hundreds of Agca's supporters came to Istanbul to celebrate his release.

"He is a family friend. We love him," Mustafa Akmercan, one of two Turks who hijacked an Air Malta jetliner in 1997 to demand Agca's release, told The Associated Press outside the prison. "We're very happy."

The pair had forced their way into the Boeing 737's xxxxpit on June 9, 1997, with a package they claimed was a bomb, and ordered the pilot on a flight from Malta to Istanbul to fly to Cologne, Germany. Akmercan later served four years in prison.

"For us, Mehmet Ali Agca is a role model for every one who loves the Turkish nation," said another supporter, Seyfi Yilmaz.

Justice Minister Cemil Cicek ordered a review of Agca's release, with the resulting information being submitted to an appeals court for a decision.

"I think it would be good to review the case once again to make sure that no errors were committed in the complicated case," Cicek said.

Agca would remain free until the appeals court decision.

"His release today does not mean that the release is a guaranteed right," Cicek said, adding that there were several cases in which prisoners released by mistake were returned to prisons.

Agca, known in the past for frequent outbursts and claims that he was the Messiah, has never undergone a thorough psychological evaluation, although he met briefly with a psychiatrist who declared him sane enough to stand trial for shooting the pope.

The issue is important because Agca, a draft-dodger who also escaped from a military prison in 1979, faces the possibility of being enlisted in the army if he is pronounced fit to serve, although the military generally accepts conscripts under age 41.

It was unclear whether Agca was screened for military service Thursday or whether he would face any criminal charges for evading the military and escaping. Agca's lawyer said his client had applied previously to serve a shortened term in the military.

As he left the recruitment center, he handed a journalist a photocopy of a Time magazine cover showing him in his prison cell with the pope and the headline: "Why forgive?"

Demirbag said Wednesday that Agca is sane and wants to work for democracy following his release. "He says, 'I want to extend the hand of peace and friendship to everyone. I want to engage a struggle for democracy and culture,'" Demirbag said.

[Gavur]

Pope's gunman arrested in Turkey

ISTANBUL, Turkey, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- Turkey's highest appeals court ordered the re-arrest of Mehmet Ali Agca, the man who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981, eight days after Agca had been freed.

The court, acting on an appeal by the Justice minister, ruled Agca should not have been released early from a Turkish prison where he was serving a 10-year sentence for bank robbery and murder.

Agca, 48, spent 20 years in prison in Italy for shooting the pope in St. Peter's Square 25 years ago.

The BBC said Agca was picked up in Istanbul Friday and taken to police headquarters.

Agca's release last week caused anger in Turkey and the government said he should serve his full sentence for the 1979 killing of a journalist and two bank robberies.

Pope John Paul publicly forgave Agca for shooting him when he visited him in prison in 1983.

[Gavur]

Pope gunman's family begin strike

Mehmet Ali Agca was sent back to jail a week after being released
Fifteen relatives of the gunman who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981 have begun a hunger strike to protest against his return to prison.
Mehmet Ali Agca's sister told state owned Anatolia news agency that the family, who reportedly include a child of four, had started a "death fast".

Agca, 48, was freed on 12 January after serving nearly 25 years in jail.

But a a week later, a court ruled he should serve more time for killing a Turkish journalist in 1979.

Prosecutors have said that Agca must stay in jail until January 2010.

Agca's sister, Fatma Yildirim, speaking from her home in the south-eastern city of Malatya, said family members had started the hunger strike to demand his release.

She said a child of four and her mother, who is unwell, would take part.

Statement

"Why was he freed and then put back in jail?" Anatolia quoted her as saying.

"Where are justice and the law? Either they will expel us from this country or we will die together with my brother. He will die in prison and we will die here," she said.

Agca was awaiting trial for the murder of left-wing Turkish journalist Abdi Ipekci when he escaped from prison and shot the Pope.

He has never explained why he did it.

Turkish Justice Minister Cemil Cicek had appealed against his release earlier this month, arguing that cuts in his original jail term had been miscalculated.

Mr Cicek said Agca should serve a full 10-year term for Ipekci's murder, as well as two bank robberies.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4648324.stm

[Gavur]

May 13 — Pope John Paul II was shot

Saturday, 13 May , 2006, 09:37

Today is Saturday, May 13, the 133rd day of 2006. There are 232 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

Twenty-five years ago, on May 13, 1981, Pope John Paul II was shot and seriously wounded in St Peter's Square by Turkish assailant Mehmet Ali Agca.

[Gavur]

Stone in St. Peter's Square marks spot where John Paul II shot 25 years before

Saturday, May 13th, 2006


VATICAN CITY (AP) - Faithful left flowers Saturday near a new, simple marble slab in St. Peter's Square which marks the spot where the late Pope John Paul II was shot in an assassination attempt exactly 25 years before.

The white stone is decorated with the date, in Roman numerals, of the May 13, 1981, shooting by a Turkish gunman which gravely wounded John Paul while he was being driven in his popemobile during a general audience in the square.

The stone is set flat into the square, replacing some cobblestones.

Jon Paul's successor, Pope Benedict, announced the placement of the stone in a message read to thousands of faithful during a mass in St. Peter's Basilica to mark the attack anniversary.

Participants were also honouring the Madonna of Fatima whose feast day is celebrated May 13. John Paul credited his survival from the shooting to what he said was the intercession of the Madonna.

Earlier in the day, thousands gathered near the Tiber River for the start of a procession to the square. Above the crowd, a helicopter carried a Fatima statue with a bullet embedded in it as a memento of the assassination attempt. The statue was later carried, on a bed of flowers, into the basilica.

May 13 also is the Roman Catholic feast day commemorating what three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal, said was the first time the Virgin Mary appeared to them in 1917.

The statue is usually kept in a shrine in Fatima, Portugal. One of the bullets that struck John Paul was later embedded in the statue.

In Benedict's message, the Pope said the stone had been placed on the exact spot to help people "remember from now on that dramatic event."

Benedict added a wish for peace for all: "in hearts, in families and among peoples."

The late pope was particularly devoted to the Virgin of Fatima and visited the shrine as part of his pilgrimages.

"Twenty-five years ago, our beloved Pope John Paul II shed his blood," said Rome's cardinal, Camillo Ruini, who celebrated the mass.

"May he be soon beatified," the cardinal added, drawing applause from the faithful.

Beatification is the last formal step before possible sainthood in the Roman Catholic church.