Video: How was the fate of the terrorist who shot the Pope 40 years ago
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
On May 13, 1981, a crime took place in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican, which horrified the whole world. The terrorist tried to kill Pope John Paul II. The attempt was unsuccessful - the pontiff was wounded, and the criminal was caught. Two years later, the Pope visited the man in prison who nearly killed him.
The terrorist turned out to be the Turk Mehmet Ali Agja. The police quickly found out that this criminal had been wanted for a long time in his country. Several years ago, he escaped from prison, where he was serving a life sentence for the murder of a journalist. For what reasons he shot dad, the terrorist did not explain. At the time of the assassination attempt, he did not shout any slogans and was not associated with terrorist organizations, so his motives remained a secret. Later it turned out that the criminal had one assistant - Oral Celik. His goal, according to the plan, was to distract the attention of the police. The second terrorist had to make an explosion so that Agja could hide. Fortunately, Celik could not complete his part of the crime, as he was simply frightened. How many victims could be in the crowded square, do not flinch his hand at the last moment, one can only guess.
Each trip of the Pope becomes an event. Many people dream of seeing the pontiff at least once in their lives. In the dense crowd that gathered in the square that day, even four shots fired at one target wounded several people at once. John Paul II received four wounds from a 9-millimeter pistol, the most severe were two - the lower intestine was affected. In addition to the Pope, two more people were injured. Panic began, but Agja was detained very quickly. The pontiff was taken unconscious to the hospital, where doctors fought for his life for a long time. John Paul II (although he is considered one of the youngest pontiffs in history) at that time was already more than 60 years old, the wound was very serious, and, in addition, while the Pope was being taken to the hospital, he lost a lot of blood. Millions of people around the world followed the news of his situation.
When an important patient was recovering, he turned to his flock with a request: to pray for the man who wounded him. The pontiff said that he himself sincerely forgave Agja and asks all believers to do the same. A few months later, an Italian court sentenced the terrorist to life in prison. Surprisingly, until now, despite the fact that the police of several countries have tried to find at least some clues, very little has become known about this crime. They tried to tie various structures to this case - from the CIA to the KGB, but the motives of the criminal and how he prepared this action are still unknown. He himself testified that the Bulgarian special services were involved in the assassination attempt, and that he was just a mercenary, but all the other defendants in this case were acquitted for lack of evidence.
In 1983, when the pontiff had already recovered enough, he amazed the whole world with a gesture that will probably remain in history as an example of true mercy. John Paul II came to the prison to talk to the man who almost became his murderer. Right in the cell, he talked with Agja for a long time. Of course, at the same time, there were also several other people - the security service, police officers and journalists who took unique pictures, but no one heard what dad talked about with the prisoner. Neither dad nor the criminal himself ever told anyone about this. However, it is known that after this conversation they became true friends. - This is the only comment dad gave to reporters after the meeting.
The pontiff kept in touch with the Agji family all the time he was in prison, and in 2000 he began to ask the authorities for a pardon. The Pope's request was granted. Agja returned to his homeland, where, however, he spent another ten years in prison. He was released in 2010 - by this time his great friend had already died (despite a serious injury, dad lived to a very old age, he died at the age of 85).
Four years later, journalists got another reason to remember this long history. The former international terrorist came to the grave of the man he failed to kill with a huge bouquet of white roses. He never confided in the press and did not give an explanation of what happened to him. Thanks to the forgiveness of the Pope, this man received immense wealth - exactly half of his own life, which he can live as an honest person. However, after his release, he had already managed to confuse everyone with very contradictory testimonies. It is known about his fate that he converted to Catholicism, wrote a memoir in which he told his story of the assassination attempt on the Pope and later announced that he was going to become a priest.
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