Turkish hijacker, a Christian convert, wanted political asylum and Pope's protection
New York TimesHijacker of Turkish Plane Wanted to Contact Pope, Officials Say
By IAN FISHER
Published: October 4, 2006
ROME, Oct. 3 — A Turkish Airlines jet was hijacked Tuesday by at least one unarmed Turkish man, apparently a convert to Christianity who wanted to communicate with Pope Benedict XVI, Turkish and Italian officials said.
All 107 passengers and 5 crew members walked out of the plane unharmed two hours after two Italian F-16’s escorted it to the southern Italian city of Brindisi for landing.
Just before they left the plane, a hijacker identified as Hakan Ekinci, 28, apologized to the passengers, most of them Albanians flying from Tirana to Istanbul, apparently unaware that the Boeing 737-400 had been hijacked until it landed in Italy at about 5:50 p.m.
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Turkish hijacker is seeking asylum
AP via Yahoo! News Wed, 04 Oct 2006 5:33 AM PDT
By ALESSANDRA RIZZO, Associated Press Writer
Wed Oct 4, 8:33 AM ET
BRINDISI, Italy - A Turkish army deserter who hijacked a Turkish airliner to Italy is seeking asylum because he fears persecution in his Muslim homeland after his conversion to Christianity and wanted Pope Benedict XVI's protection, an Italian prosecutor said Wednesday.
"It looks like it was an operation which he had planned for some time, the reasons are of religious nature," Brindisi Prosecutor Giuseppe Giannuzzi told a news conference in this port city where the hijacking ended safely Tuesday night with the hijacker's surrender.
"Having taken up the Christian religion, he feared going back to Turkey," said Giannuzzi, who interrogated the suspect after he surrendered.
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posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 1:47 PM
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