Pope’s would-be assassin freed from jail

The man who tried to murder the Pope has been released from an Istanbul jail. Mehmet Ali Agca’s liberation comes after a quarter of a century behind bars. His May 1981 assassination attempt left the late Pope John Paul 11 seriously wounded.

Sentenced to life imprisonment in Italy, he served 19 years behind bars there before being pardoned and extradited to his native Turkey in 2000 to serve a separate jail term for murder and robbery. On his release, the 48-year-old was reportedly taken to a military recruitment centre for medical checks prior to doing his compulsory military service.

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