Man who shot Pope back in jail
The Turkish man who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981 returned to prison after an appeals court ruled that he should serve more time for the killing of a Turkish journalist and other crimes.
Mehmet Ali Agca did not resist arrest yesterday when police knocked on his Istanbul apartment door following the court’s ruling.
“I was waiting for you,” he told the officers, according to private NTV television.
He was driven to Kartal prison, the same Istanbul lockup that he was released from eight days ago. He is expected to serve several more years.
The panel of appeals court judges overturned a lower court’s ruling that set Agca free on January 12. He had served 19 years in an Italian prison for the 1981 attack on the pope and then another five years of a 10-year sentence in Turkey for murdering Turkish journalist Abdi Ipekci in 1979.
In ordering his release, the lower court counted the time served in Italy and said Agca had fulfilled his sentence, outraging many Turks. Justice Minister Cemil Cicek asked the court to review the case, and the judges ruled unanimously yesterday that Agca go back to prison and serve more time.
“There is no legal basis to deduct Agca’s time in Italy from his prison terms he received in Turkey,” the court said.
Before being taken back to prison, Agca was brought to police headquarters in Istanbul, where he was seen handcuffed and yelling in English, Turkish and Italian.
“I declare myself Messiah. I am not the son of God, I am Messiah,” shouted Agca, who is known for such outbursts.
Earlier, Agca’s lawyer, Mustafa Demirbag, said: “We’re respectful of all decisions by Turkish courts.” After his client’s detention, he said, “The media won, the law lost.”
