Italy pardons Pope attacker

The Pope publicly forgave his would-be assassin

Italy has granted clemency to Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Agca, who was jailed 19 years ago for the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II.

However, the Italian Justice Ministry has confirmed that Mr Agca now faces extradition to Turkey to serve the remainder of a sentence he received there for killing a journalist in 1978.

The attempt on the Pope's life - on 13 May 1981, less than three years after his accession - came as he drove across Saint Peter's square in an open car to hold a general audience with a crowd of 20,000 people.

The Pope narrowly escaped with his life

He was hit by three bullets - one entered his stomach, another hit his left hand and the third his right arm.

Two of his aides were also injured in the attack. Mr Agca was arrested by Italian police as he tried to flee the scene and he was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Mystery

The Pope later publicly forgave Mr Agca and even visited him in prison. The Vatican had said it would not stand in the way of Italian justice in the case.

Despite three investigations and two trials, mystery has long surrounded the assassination attempt.

It was at first believed to be linked to Bulgarian and Soviet secret services as part of a communist plot to kill the Pope, who helped to loosen the grip of communist authorities in his Polish homeland.

However, at the second trial in 1986, prosecutors failed to prove charges that Bulgarian secret services had hired Mr Agca on behalf of the Soviet Union.