Hijacker 'wanted to deliver message to Pope'

The Turk who hijacked a Turkish Airlines plane to Italy feared for his safety because he converted to Christianity and wanted to deliver a message for Pope Benedict XVI but had no physical letter, Italy’s interior minister told politicians in Rome today.

“The reason he insisted on landing in Rome or in Brindisi was to get a missive to the pope,” Minister Giuliano Amato told the Senate in a briefing on yesterday’s hijacking.