There was something odd about it

There just had to be something odd about that story of the hi-jack. As reported by both the BBC World Service and CNN, among others, one assumes, there was a connection with the Pope but not quite in the way it was assumed by all and sundry.

Italian officials are questioning a Turkish man who hijacked a Turkish jetliner with 113 people aboard Tuesday and forced it to fly to Italy, where the passengers and crew were released unharmed.

The man, identified by Turkish authorities as Hasan Ekinci, has reportedly requested political asylum.

Turkish authorities said Ekinci wrote a letter to Pope Benedict XVI in August asking for help in avoiding service in the Turkish army.

"I am a Christian and don't want to serve a Muslim army," he wrote, adding that he had been attending church since 1998.

Further details appear to make the story even more confusing. Apparently, the man was on his own and, according to the BBC, did not actually have a missive for the Pope, though he had told the pilot otherwise.

According to the Turkish authorities the man is on the run from the army.

COMMENT THREAD