Gunman who shot Pope to be freed

The Turkish man who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981 is looking forward to his release from prison but has not made any plans for the future, his lawyer said.

A Turkish court last week decided to free Mehmet Ali Agca, 47, on parole on January 12, saying he had completed his prison term in Turkey.

Agca was extradited to Turkey in 2000 after serving almost 20 years in prison in Italy for shooting and wounding the pope in St Peter’s Square in Rome.

Demirbag, explaining the court decision, said Agca was sentenced to life in prison, which amounts to 36 years under Turkish law, for murdering Turkish journalist Abdi Ipekci in 1979.

Agca served less than six months in a Turkish prison in 1979 for killing Ipekci before he escaped, resurfacing in 1981 in Rome.

And an amnesty in 1991 deducted 10 more years from his time, leaving some 25.5 years to be served, he said.

But Turgut Kazan, a lawyer representing Ipekci family, yesterday told private NTV television the family would oppose Agca’s release.