Italy to prosecute Turkish hijacker despite asylum plea

(AP)
Updated: 2006-10-05 08:58

"It looks like it was an operation which he had planned for some time, the reasons are of religious nature," Giannuzzi told a news conference in this Adriatic port city.

Turkish police identified Ekinci as a 28-year-old army deserter who fled to Albania in May and had asked for political asylum there. He was going back to Turkey on Tuesday, where Turkish authorities said police planned to arrest him.

Justice Minister Cemil Cicek said Turkey would seek Ekinci's extradition.

Turkey's Ambassador to Italy Ugur Ziyal dismissed claims that Ekinci was afraid of being persecuted.

"This issue is a comedy of misrepresentation," Ziyal said. "Whatever (Ekinci) is saying has nothing to do with reality."

Ziyal said Ekinci flew to Albania on a Turkish passport, then about three days ago went to the Turkish Embassy in Tirana and said the hotel where he had been staying, had confiscated his passport because he had not paid his bill, and asked embassy officials for papers so he could travel back to Turkey. The U.N. High Commission for Refugees then bought his ticket to Turkey, Ziyal said.

"I don't think they would have done that if they thought he was being persecuted" in Turkey," the ambassador said.

Ekinci had briefly served time in prison in 2003 for swindling and attempting to leave the country with another person's passport, the Turkish police said.

In Rome, Interior Minister Giuliano Amato briefed parliament hours after the hijacking.

"We all have in mind the pope's visit to Turkey in the coming weeks," Amato said. He added the pilgrimage would present "delicate security problems" but said he didn't think the hijacking would make them worse.

Benedict's visit to Turkey in late November is his first as pontiff to a predominantly Muslim country. The already sensitive visit became even more delicate after remarks by Benedict about Islam and violence angered the Muslim world.

Benedict expressed regret that his September 12 speech in Germany had sparked protests, said he did not intend to endorse a negative view of Islam and called for dialogue among religions.


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