Agca grieves for ‘spiritual brother’

MEHMET ALI AGCA, the Turkish gunman who attempted to assassinate John Paul 24 years ago, said from his prison cell yesterday that he was joining in mourning the pontiff’s death.

The Pope met Agca in an Italian prison in 1983 and forgave him for the shooting.

Agca was extradited to Turkey in 2000 after almost 20 years behind bars in Italy. He is currently serving a 17-year prison sentence in Istanbul for earlier crimes in Turkey.