Sirhan Sirhan, Robert F. Kennedy‘s assassin, was granted parole
on 16th attempt on Friday after two of the former senator’s sons, Robert F.
Kennedy, Jr. and Douglas Kennedy, spoke in favor of his release.

Robert F. Kennedy, who served as a U.S. attorney general and
adviser during the administration of his brother Pres. John F. Kennedy, was
assassinated while campaigning for the Democratic Party’s
presidential nomination on 6 June 1968, in Los Angeles, California.

Also Read: Who is Sirhan Sirhan?

Sirhan, a Palestinian, confessed to the murder during his trial
and was sentenced to death on March 3, 1969. Sirhan, on the other hand, has
spent the remainder of his life in jail since the California State Supreme
Court overturned all death penalty verdicts in 1972.

Sirhan Sirhan was a Palestinian Arab with Jordanian citizenship
who was born in Jerusalem and harboured anti-Zionist views.

Also Read: Robert Kennedy’s assassin Sirhan Sirhan granted parole on 16th attempt

During a check of his house, a journal was discovered, and he
wrote on May 19th.: “My determination to eliminate RFK is becoming more
and more of an unshakable obsession. RFK must die. RFK must be killed. Robert
F. Kennedy must be assassinated … Robert F. Kennedy must be assassinated
before 5 June 68.”

The killing occurred on the first anniversary of the
commencement of Israel‘s Six-Day War with its Arab neighbours.

When police arrested Sirhan, they discovered a newspaper item in
his pocket about Kennedy’s support for Israel. Sirhan said at his trial that
knowing of Kennedy’s support for Israel made him detest the senator.

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In jail in 1989, he told British television personality David
Frost: “My only connection with Robert Kennedy was his sole support of
Israel and his deliberate attempt to send those 50 bombers to Israel to
obviously do harm to the Palestinians”.

According to some sources, the idea that Sirhan was motivated by
Middle Eastern politics is an oversimplification that misses his psychological
issues.