San Francisco - A California parole board refused Wednesday to release Sirhan Sirhan, who killed US presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy in 1968, saying the assassin remained a danger to society.
Sirhan opted not to attend the parole board hearing and did not send anyone to represent him, said Tip Kindel of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
"Essentially, the board found he continues to be a danger to public safety and is not suitable to parole," Kindel told reporters. "He was given two opportunities by the panel to show up, and declined."
The board concluded Sirhan killed Kennedy in a "cold, calculated and callous manner" with disregard for the senator and those with him, Kindel said.
Psychiatric exam results presented to the board indicated that Sirhan "hates Americans and, if released, wants to be involved in Middle East politics."
It was the 13th time Sirhan was denied parole. He was sentenced to death after his conviction for killing Kennedy.
The sentence was changed in 1972 to life in prison after the death penalty as it existed at the time was ruled unconstitutional by the California Supreme Court.
The death penalty was reinstated after the law was modified.
The Los Angeles district attorney and police department opposed parole.
It will be five years before Sirhan can next be considered for parole, Kindel said.
The Palestinian immigrant shot Kennedy after he won the California presidential primary.
Sirhan reportedly killed the New York senator because he backed selling war planes to Israel.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is married to Kennedy's niece, would have been able to override a board recommendation to parole Sirhan.
Robert Kennedy's brother, president John F. Kennedy, was assassinated in 1963. - Sapa-AFP