Man Who Shot Pope John Paul II Condemns Terrorism

This is the Turkish man who tried to kill Pope John Paul the second nearly thirty years ago.

Now Mehmet Ali Agca's set to be released from prison.

A week before his release Ali Agca issued an open letter via his lawyers condemning terrorism.

In it he describes Osama bin Laden and Adolf Hitler as "the common enemies of all religions and all nations in the world."

His lawyers say it shows he's a changed man.

[Yilmaz Abosoglu, Mehmet Ali Agca's Lawyer]:
"My client has served years in prison as the laws required for the charges and he will now be released. He is one of the prisoners who served the most time in prison. Of course his current thinking may differ from his old ideas, he has changed and he showed this in his letter. Now he is against terrorism."

In 1981 Ali Agca shot the Pope in the Vatican's St Peter's Square.

It's still not clear what his motive was.

The former far-right gangster served 19 years in an Italian prison for the assassination attempt.

After being pardoned at the Pope's request in 2000, he was extradited to Turkey to serve time for other crimes including the murder of a newspaper editor.

Agca says he'll answer questions about the attack once he is free.

Rumors are already circulating about possible book and film deals about Agca's experience.