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| Europe |
| Agca ruled unfit for army service |
| 2006-01-16 |
| Mehmet Ali Agca, the man who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981, is unfit to do his military service, NTV television quoted a military hospital as saying on Monday, days after he was freed from an Istanbul jail. The decision leaves Agca at liberty, pending an appeal from the Justice Ministry against his early release from prison. "Mehmet Ali Agca is a free person and he can go anywhere he wants," Agca's lawyer Mustafa Demirbag told reporters. Turkey's army had wanted Agca, 48, to do his missed military service, which is a legal obligation for all Turkish men. His lawyers argued he was not well enough to do a stint in the army. Agca served 19 years in an Italian jail for trying to kill the Pope before being pardoned at the Pontiff's behest in 2000. He was then extradited to Turkey to serve a separate sentence for the murder of a Turkish newspaper editor and for robbery. Justice Minister Cemil Cicek reiterated on Monday that he planned to appeal against Agca's release. In a televised news conference, Cicek also said the decision to free Agca was a purely legal one in which the government played no part. "We are going to ask the Supreme Court tomorrow to reconsider the case," Cicek said. Turkish media have speculated that Agca could be jailed again for the 1979 murder of liberal newspaper editor Abdi Ipekci and that he could also face other charges. He was imprisoned after killing Ipekci, but escaped with suspected help from sympathizers in the security services. |
| Posted by:Fred |