Updated on Monday, November 27, 2006, 00:00 IST

Istanbul, Nov 27: The Turk who attempted to kill the late Pope John Paul II has called his successor, Benedict XVI, a "Nazi remnant" and decried his policies "of grudge and hatred" against Muslims, his lawyer said on Monday.

Mehmet Ali Agca believes the head of the Roman Catholic Church is seeking to polarise the world along religious lines but is confident that "this Nazi remnant will fail in his policies of grudge and hatred," Attorney Mustafa Demirbag told reporters, a day before benedict xvi was to arrive for a four-day visit.

Amid fears that the Pope's remarks in September linking Islam and violence can provoke a backlash here, Turkish authorities have put in place draconian security measures.

Agca had asked the authorities earlier this month to grant him early release from prison because he would be "devastated" not to see Benedict XVI when he visits Turkey, but Demirbag said today that "Ratzinger is a poor man and we would not like to meet him."

He also gave to reporters a file containing handwritten ramblings by Agca, including a copy of a 1984 Time magazine cover featuring John Paul II and Agca shaking hands at a meeting in an Italian prison when the late Pope forgave his assailant.

"The Vatican is a centre of lies... I invite the Vatican to accept the divine truth in the perfect Bible that I have written," Agca, who has long claimed to be a second messiah, wrote.

Bureau Report