Pope gunman 'unfit for military service'

A military hospital that pronounced the Turk who shot Pope John Paul II unfit for military service determined that he had an “anti-social” personality, a newspaper reported today.

It also printed what it said was the gunman’s offer in 2000 to capture al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

Doctors examined Mehmet Ali Agca yesterday and declared him unfit to serve, ending days of speculation over whether the 48-year-old would be drafted into the military.

The reasons for the decision were not made public, and Agca’s lawyer, Mustafa Demirbag, said the hospital ruled him unfit because he had served more than five years of “heavy” prison time.

The Hurriyet newspaper, however, said a panel of doctors ruled that Agca had an “anti-social” personality, which made him incapable of obeying military orders.

Agca was released from an Istanbul prison last week after serving 25 years in Italy and Turkey for the 1981 attempt on the Pope’s life and the murder of a prominent Turkish journalist.

Agca still faces the threat of returning to prison amid uncertainty over whether he served enough time for killing journalist Abdi Ipekci.