The man who nearly ended the life of Pope John Paul II in 1983 has been released from jail after serving 29 years.

Mehmet Ali Agca, now a greying 52-year-old, raised his fist as he was driven away in a car from a high-security prison near Ankara, escorted by several other vehicles.

Agca's car was closely pursued by an army of reporters as he was taken to a military hospital, where he underwent a check-up. Military officials still consider him a draft dodger.

In a statement released through his lawyers and signed "The Christ Eternal," Agca lent credence to speculation that he is mentally unstable.

"I proclaim the end of the world. All the world will be destroyed in this century," he wrote. "The Gospel is full of mistakes. I will write the perfect Gospel."

Motives unclear

Agca's motives for the attack have always been unclear. He was 23 when on May 13, 1981 in Rome he shot the then-pope three times in the abdomen while the pontiff was driving by in an open vehicle, seriously wounding him.

When he was arrested, a note in his pocket stated that he did it as a protest against US and Soviet imperialism. But later he claimed to be acting on orders from the Bulgarian secret service.

John Paul II, who visited his assailant in prison in 1983, said in his book "Memory and Identity" that he believed Agca was a pawn in a larger plot to assassinate him. During that jailhouse visit, the Pope announced that he had "sincerely forgiven" the man.

Agca was a member of Turkey's ultranationalist Grey Wolves, and reportedly received training as a militant in the two years before the shooting. In June 1979, he had been arrested for the murder of a newspaper editor, but escaped from the military jail where he was being held that November.

After being convicted of the assassination attempt, Agca served 19 years in an Italian prison.

He was pardoned in 2000 and sent to Turkey to serve time for the murder, armed robberies, and prison escape.

Not so crazy?

While some believe he is mentally ill, others are of the opinion he is a sly operator playing the fool.

Agca has expressed interest in selling the rights to his story and in converting to Christianity and more than 50 foreign publishers and movie-makers have offered to buy his story in the hope he may finally shed light on his attempt on the pope, lawyers said.

After leaving the high-security prison in Ankara where he has been serving his sentence, he was subject to an examination to determine his fitness for Turkey's compulsory military service.

Agca's lawyer, Haci Ali Ozhan, said his client was "in shock and insists he cannot hold a weapon because of his religious and philosophical convictions."

svs/AFP/AP/Reuters
Editor: Kyle James