Man Who Shot Pope Freed
Mehmet Ali Agca, the man who shot Pope John Paul II, was released from his Turkish jail today after serving over 25 years behind bars.
Agca was a right-wing gangster who had also murdered a leftist Turkish journalist in 1979. However, his reasons for shooting the late Pope are still unclear.
Many International sources believe that the 1981 attempt on the Pope's life was ordered by Soviet Security forces owing to the Polish Pontiff's marked opposition to communism.
However, Pope John Paul II famously forgave Agca, visiting him in prison and officially pardoning him in 2000. Agca was released from the Italian jail that year, before being snapped up by the Turks for the murder of their journalist.
Although Agca claims to be a reformed man, the daughter of the victim he slew in 1979 has printed a front page indictment of his release in Turkish daily Milliyet.
Agca shot the Pope four times as he was being driven through crowds in front of the Vatican in May 1981.
Italian experts have suggested that Agca may still need protection. They believe that the tables could well be turned and that Agca could become a victim of the assassin's bullet himself. Some of Agca's former employers may not be keen for the man to reveal details of his past.