John Paul gunman in prison move

The gunman who shot Pope John Paul II is being transferred to an Ankara prison from Istanbul on Friday, his brother said.

The gunman who shot Pope John Paul II is being transferred to an Ankara prison from Istanbul on Friday, his brother said.

Mehmet Ali Agca, who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981, was on his way to a high-security prison in Sincan, on the outskirts of Ankara, from Istanbul's Kartal prison, Adnan Agca said.

Agca's former lawyer, Mustafa Demirbag, said Mehmet had requested to be transferred to a city closer to his hometown Malatya almost a year ago. Ankara is mid-way between Malatya and Istanbul.

Agca has served prison time in both Italy and Turkey. He was released from prison earlier last year because of an incorrect calculation by a lower court on his time already served. But he was sent back to prison on January 20th, eight days after being freed.

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An appeals court ruled he had to serve more time for killing prominent Turkish journalist Abdi Ipekci in 1979 and reversed the lower court ruling freeing him.

He is scheduled to be released in 2010.

AP