Vatican: Ali Agca's Release Is Up to Courts

VATICAN CITY, JAN. 8, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The Holy See says that it respects the decisions of the courts that might set free Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turk who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981.

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»The Holy See, before a problem of a judicial nature, submits to the decisions of the tribunals involved in this matter,» said Joaquín Navarro Valls, director of the Vatican press office, in a statement after having received the news.

According to reports by the Anatolia news agency, a Turkish court approved the release of Agca, 47.

He was extradited to Turkey in 2000 after serving almost 20 years in prison in Italy for shooting and wounding the Pope in St. Peter’s Square.

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