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Europe
Turkish court orders release of John Paul II's attempted assassin
2006-01-08

Hat tip: LGF
A Turkish court has approved the release of the man who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981, saying he has completed his prison term, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported Sunday.

Turkish citizen Mehmet Ali Agca, 46, 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. His motives for the attack remain unclear between normal Islamic hatred of infidels and the likelihood of being a proxy of the KGB. Agca was expected to be released as early as Monday, Anatolia added.

Agca, a draft-dodger, was expected to be immediately enlisted by the military for obligatory military service, Anatolia said.
And they're looking forward to having him, too.

Upon his return to Turkey, Agca was sent to prison to serve a 10-year sentence for murdering Turkish journalist Abdi Ipekci in 1979. He was separately sentenced to seven years and four months for two robberies in Turkey the same year.
So, 2000 + 10 years + 7 years = 2006. Must have gone to public schools.
Posted by:Jackal

#1  Pope John Paul II forgave Agca, but even he called him a "professional assassin" in his book "Memory and Identity: Conversations at the Dawn of a Millennium." Either the death penalty or life without parole (really!) are the only suitable penalties for such. Turkey has struck another blow for terrorism rather than against it.
Posted by: Snuns Thromp1484   2006-01-08 23:22  

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