Mehmet Ali

After nearly 30 years behind bars, the Turkish man who tried to assassinate Pope John Paul II walked out of a prison a free man Monday and promptly predicted the end of the world. Now a gray-haired 52-year-old, Mehmet Ali Agca declared himself the "Christ eternal" and prophesied that humanity would be wiped out this century, in a statement passed out to a scrum of television cameras and waiting reporters in Ankara, the Turkish capital. Later, the hollow-cheeked Agca, who has spent more of his life in prison than out, was declared mentally disturbed by doctors who exempted him from mandatory military service, the Associated Press reported.

After nearly 30 years behind bars, the Turkish man who tried to assassinate Pope John Paul II walked out of a prison a free man Monday and promptly predicted the end of the world. Now a gray-haired 52-year-old, Mehmet Ali Agca declared himself the "Christ eternal" and prophesied that humanity would be wiped out this century, in a statement passed out to a scrum of television cameras and waiting reporters in Ankara, the Turkish capital. Later, the hollow-cheeked Agca, who has spent more of his life in prison than out, was declared mentally disturbed by doctors who exempted him from mandatory military service, the Associated Press reported.

The man who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981 will be released from prison this week after a court decided he had completed his sentence for the attack on the pontiff and other crimes. The ruling on Mehmet Ali Agca, who had served almost 20 years in Italy before being extradited to Turkey in 2000, took the Vatican by surprise. Agca shot the pope in the abdomen in St. Peter's Square in Rome on May 13, 1981. His motive remains unclear.

Mehmet Ali Agca, the man who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981, was detained by authorities Friday after an appeals court overturned a decision to free Turkey's most notorious criminal. An hour and half after the ruling, police handcuffed Agca at an apartment block in Istanbul's lower middle class Kartal neighborhood, close to the jail from which he had been released Jan. 12. Istanbul Gov. Muammer Guler said Agca did not put up a fight. He did, however, repeat assertions that he was the messiah.

Mehmet Ali Agca, the man who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981, was detained by authorities Friday after an appeals court overturned a decision to free Turkey's most notorious criminal. An hour and half after the ruling, police handcuffed Agca at an apartment block in Istanbul's lower middle class Kartal neighborhood, close to the jail from which he had been released Jan. 12. Istanbul Gov. Muammer Guler said Agca did not put up a fight. He did, however, repeat assertions that he was the messiah.

Mehmet Ali Agca, the gunman who wounded Pope John Paul II in a 1981 assassination attempt with still-mysterious motives, was pardoned Tuesday by Italy's president and sent home to Turkey to finish a prison term there for an unrelated murder. The surprise move did nothing to shed light on the lingering question of whether Agca acted alone.

Papal assailant Mehmet Ali Agca is undergoing treatment for tuberculosis at the prison where he is serving a life sentence, his lawyer said today. Asked if the convicted Turkish terrorist's condition was serious, Pietro D'Ovidio said, "We don't know."

The Turkish gunman who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981 was freed from prison today after serving more than 25 years in Italy and Turkey for the plot against the pontiff and the slaying of a Turkish journalist. Dozens of police officers stood guard as Mehmet Ali Agca left Kartal prison. John Paul personally forgave him 2 1/2 years after the attack.

Mehmet Ali Agca, serving a life sentence for attempting to assassinate the Pope, contradicted himself repeatedly in testimony about alleged accomplices. "How many truths are in you, Agca?" Judge Severino Santiapichi asked in exasperation. Agca announced that he would refuse to answer further questions at the trial in Rome.

A defense lawyer asked the court hearing the papal plot case today to order psychiatric tests for Mehmet Ali Agca, the prosecution's star witness. Agca responded by saying he had returned from heaven to announce the end of the world. Agca, who claims Bulgaria ordered his 1981 assassination attempt against Pope John Paul II, said he had no objections to a psychiatric examination. None was ordered.

The man who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981 will be released from prison this week after a court decided he had completed his sentence for the attack on the pontiff and other crimes. The ruling on Mehmet Ali Agca, who had served almost 20 years in Italy before being extradited to Turkey in 2000, took the Vatican by surprise. Agca shot the pope in the abdomen in St. Peter's Square in Rome on May 13, 1981. His motive remains unclear.

Mehmet Ali Agca, the gunman who wounded Pope John Paul II in a 1981 assassination attempt with still-mysterious motives, was pardoned Tuesday by Italy's president and sent home to Turkey to finish a prison term there for an unrelated murder. The surprise move did nothing to shed light on the lingering question of whether Agca acted alone.

A brother and sister have died of bird flu in eastern Turkey, becoming the first fatalities outside China and Southeast Asia, officials said. Fatma Kocyigit, 15, and Mehmet Ali Kocyigit, 14, died one day apart. The H5N1 virus has killed more than 70 people in Asia since 2003. Turkish Health Minister Recep Akdag said samples had been sent to the WHO and Britain for more tests.