Release of JPII shooter jars Turkey
The release of the Turkish man who shot the pope in 1981 has unsettled Turks who remember him for another crime — the killing of journalist Abdi Ipekci, whose calls for tolerance still resonate in a divided nation, Associated Press writer Christopher Torchia writes from Istanbul:
The world knows Mehmet Ali Agca for his attempt on Pope John Paul II, a brazen assault in the midst of throngs of the devout in Rome that has not been explained to the satisfaction of prosecutors. But his emergence after decades in jail had a deeper impact in Turkey, troubled by a dark past and concerns about impunity, conspiracy and freedom of expression.Agca was convicted of the fatal shooting of Ipekci, chief editor of Milliyet newspaper, outside his apartment building in Istanbul on Feb. 1, 1979. Yet suspicions that he acted for a wider right-wing network never advanced beyond speculation in a country where many believe a "deep state," renegade gangs with links to security forces, targeted perceived enemies.
Those suspicions about opaque power interests revived when Agca, 52, was released Monday. A black SUV with tinted windows ferried him to the luxury Sheraton hotel in Ankara, and he was escorted by men in suits, some with thick mustaches of a style worn by the now-defunct Gray Wolves, a rightist militant group to which Agca was once linked.
In a statement released Wednesday, Agca declared his innocence, saluted Ipekci's family as "noble and respected" and said he "had no connection with official or unofficial circles in Turkey other than a handful of ultra-nationalists."
Agca's claims this week that he is the Messiah fueled old theories that he is indeed mentally ill, or is trying to stoke curiosity and diversion in order to collect as high a price as possible for selling his story.
His lawyer, Gokay Gultekin, said Agca was resting in Istanbul on Wednesday. He apologized for a reported incident in which armed associates of Agca threatened journalists on a highway while traveling with him from the capital.
