Man who shot pope re-arrested after court ruling

Jan 20, 2006

“The man who shot pope John Paul II in 1981, Mehmet Ali Agca, was re-arrested in Istanbul after Turkey's highest appeals court ruled that he should go back to jail....

There was no reaction from the current head of the Roman Catholic Church.....

Earlier Friday the Court of Cassation ruled unanimously that Agca's release on January 12, after nearly 25 years behind bars in Italy and Turkey, should not have been allowed, the semi-official Anatolia news agency said.

When taken back in custody late Friday and brought to police headquarters in Istanbul, Agca, handcuffed and escorted by several police officers, shouted to a crowd of waiting journalists.

"I am the Messiah, I am the Messiah. I am not God, I proclaim the apocalypse," he said.

The scene on several Turkish television channel also showed him speaking in English: "I am the Christ. I am not God."

Similar remarks were reported earlier this week in a Turkish newspaper which published excerpts of letters Agca reportedly wrote during his last few years in prison.

He claimed to be the reincaration of Jesus Christ and also offered to assassinate Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, prompting speculation over Agca's mental state or whether he was just playing the madman.....”

http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=104260