ANKARA, Turkey — The Turkish gunman who shot Pope John Paul II and is to be released from prison this week was a draft dodger in the 1970s but may not have to do his obligatory service if he is found psychologically unfit, his lawyer said Tuesday.

A Turkish court last week decided to free Mehmet Ali Agca on Thursday, saying he had completed his prison term in Turkey.

Agca was extradited to Turkey in 2000 after serving almost 20 years in prison in Italy for shooting and wounding the pope in Rome in 1981.

"If they say he will serve in the military then he will serve as all other Turkish males," his lawyer, Mustafa Demirbag, said by telephone from Istanbul. "We will fulfill all requirements."

Police will take Agca, 48, to a military station following his release Thursday and to a military hospital later for medical checks, a routine procedure, Demirbag said.

He suggested that because his client had been in prison for a long time, he might be spared military service if he is determined to be unsuitable.

"But of course, the military hospital will make the decision on that," Demirbag said.

It was not clear whether Agca would be required to serve in the military, which generally accepts conscripts until age 41.

It was also unclear whether he would face new charges for draft dodging and escaping from a military prison in 1979. Demirbag cast doubt on such a development, hinting that Agca's time in prison would easily cover the time he would have served for escaping from prison and avoiding the draft.

John Paul II met with Agca in Italy's Rebibbia prison in 1983 and forgave him for the shooting. Agca's motive for the attack remains unclear.