Pope gunman (Mehmet Ali Agca) 'offered to capture bin Laden'

The Turkish man who shot Pope John Paul II offered in 2000 to capture al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and planed to kill the late Syrian President Hafez Assad, a Turkish newspaper reported today, printing what it said were letters the gunman wrote.

The Hurriyet newspaper printed handwritten letters purportedly penned by Mehmet Ali Agca.

In one letter, dated September 1, 2000, and addressed to the head of the Turkish intelligence agency, Agca asked to be released from prison so he could travel to Afghanistan, infiltrate Bin Laden’s terror network and capture him “dead or alive”.

“I would lovingly carry out this historic mission even if it cost me my life,” Agca wrote. “If I become a national hero in America, this would be good for the Turkish people and the Turkish state.”

Agca’s lawyer, Mustafa Demirbag, said he could not confirm the authenticity of the letter.

“I am puzzled,” Demirbag said. “If there is such a letter, I would be interested to know who gave it to the newspaper and why.”

There have been questions about the mental health of Agca, who has been known for frequent outbursts and claims that he is the Messiah or Jesus Christ.

Before the shooting, Agca was affiliated with the Gray Wolves, a Turkish right-wing militant group. A scandal in 1996 revealed that the state used members of the Gray Wolves to kill insurgents and many ultranationalists regard them as national heroes.

If the letter turns out to have been authentic, Agca – who is said to be fond of publicity – may have been offering his services in a bid to gain favours with the Turkish state and hopes of becoming an international hero.

Agca offered to donate a £2.8m (€4.1m) bounty he said was offered for Bin Laden’s capture to survivors of a pair of devastating 1999 earthquakes in Turkey. “Please immediately go to Washington, meet with the heads of the CIA and the NSA and let’s quickly finish this job,” Agca wrote.

Agca also claimed in the same letter that he had planned two attempts on the life of the late Syrian President Hafez Assad – whom he called an enemy of Turkey – between 1979 and 1980. He did not elaborate.

Many believe that Armenian terrorists who killed Turkish diplomats in the 1970s and 1980s trained in the Syrian-controlled Bekaa Valley. Turkey’s relations with Syria were troubled for many years over accusations that Syria harboured autonomy-seeking Turkish Kurdish rebels.

In another letter published today, Agca claimed that Emanuela Orlandi, the 15-year-old daughter of a Vatican messenger, and another girl, Mirella Gregory, were kidnapped in 1983 in return for his release from prison. He claimed that the girls were whisked away to a royal palace in Liechtenstein.

Agca was released from an Istanbul prison last week after serving 25 years in Italy and Turkey for the 1981 attempt on the Pope’s life and the murder of a prominent Turkish journalist.

His freedom may be shortlived; he still faces the threat of returning to prison amid questions over whether he served enough time for killing journalist Abdi Ipekci.

Meanwhile, a military hospital that pronounced Agca unfit for military service determined that the 48-year-old had an “anti-social” personality making him incapable of obeying military orders, Hurriyet reported.

Demirbag said he could not confirm the report, saying the reasons for the decision were not made public.

Agca’s arrival yesterday at the military hospital in Istanbul was his first appearance in public since he vanished hours after his release last Thursday.

He later slipped away again from the hospital in a speeding car. Demirbag would not disclose his whereabouts but said he was still in Turkey and “leading an ordinary life”.

Agca evaded mandatory army service in 1980, a year after escaping from a military prison where he was serving time for killing Ipekci in 1979.

He served about 19 years in a prison in Italy after he shot the pope on May 13, 1981, in St Peter’s Square. He was then extradited to Turkey on June 14, 2000, where he served five years on a conviction for murdering Ipekci.

Facing public outrage in Turkey over Agca’s release, Justice Minister Cemil Cicek today formally asked an appeals court to review the decision for his release to see whether there were any legal flaws.

Cicek has suggested Agca might have been released by mistake and may have to serve at least 11 more months in Turkey for his crimes there. Agca will remain free until the court reviews the case.

Man Who Shot Pope Headed Back to Prison

By SELCAN HACAOGLU, Associated Press Writer

ANKARA, Turkey - Police took the man who shot Pope John Paul II back into custody Friday after an appeals court ordered him to return to prison to serve more time for killing a journalist and for other crimes in Turkey.

Mehmet Ali Agca did not resist arrest after eight days of freedom, and he was taken to police headquarters in Istanbul, where TV cameras showed him 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 has made similar outbursts in the past.

When police knocked on the door of his apartment earlier Friday, Agca told them: "I was waiting for you," according to private NTV television.

Agca served 19 years in prison in Italy for shooting the pope on May 13, 1981, and 5 1/2 years of a 10-year sentence in Turkey for the murder of journalist Abdi Ipekci in 1979.

In a decision that outraged many Turks, a local court had ordered his release from an Istanbul prison on Jan. 12, counting his time served in Italy as part of his sentence. Friday's ruling overturned that decision, saying there "is no legal basis" for deducting Agca's time served in Italy from his Turkish sentence.

It was up to the local court to decide how many more years Agca, 48, would have to serve. Reports suggested he could be imprisoned until 2014.

"We're respectful of all decisions by Turkish courts," Agca's lawyer, Mustafa Demirbag, told private NTV television earlier Friday.

The anger over Agca's release came at a delicate time for Turkey, which aspires to membership in the European Union. Next week, the EU is to begin screening the country's justice system.

"There was certainly quite a lot of public outcry in Turkey itself, and a state of unhappiness in general about the legal system," said political analyst Ilter Turan. "There was a general expectation that he (Agca) would be called back to jail."

Responding to the criticism, Justice Minister Cemil Cicek earlier this week had asked the appeals court to annul Agca's release, arguing he should serve a full 10-year sentence from June 14, 2000, when he was extradited to Turkey for killing Ipekci.

Agca also had been convicted of robbing a factory and commandeering a vehicle in 1979 — and could also separately serve four years for those crimes.

He already had served five months for the killing Ipekci before escaping a military prison in 1979.

Although a military court had ordered Agca's execution for killing Ipekci, a 1991 amnesty commuted that sentence to 10 years. He later benefited from a second amnesty in 2000, which deducted 10 years from his time.

Its ruling Friday, the appeals court said Agca could benefit only from the 1991 amnesty.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the Justice Ministry has "fulfilled its responsibility."

Agca shot John Paul as the pope rode in an open car in St. Peter's Square and was captured immediately. The pontiff was hit in the abdomen, left hand and right arm, but recovered because the bullets missed his vital organs.

John Paul later visited Agca in prison in 1983 and forgave him.

Agca's release from prison had prompted little Vatican comment.

"The case is fully in the hands of the Turkish justice system," the Rev. Robert Necek told The Associated Press on Friday after the latest legal development. Necek is spokesman for Krakow Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, who was John Paul's personal secretary for more than 40 years until the pontiff's death last year.

Before he shot the pope, Agca was affiliated with the Gray Wolves, a Turkish right-wing militant group.

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