Sergei Antonov
Encyclopedia
Sergei Antonov was a Bulgarian
airline
representative who was accused of involvement in an assassination
attempt against Pope John Paul II
by Mehmet Ali Ağca
in 1981.
Antonov, who worked as a Rome
-based representative for Balkan Airlines, Bulgaria
's national airline, was arrested in 1981 by Italian
authorities and charged with complicity
after the assassination attempt against Pope John Paul II
by Turkish
national Mehmet Ali Ağca on May 13, 1981. Pope John Paul II was seriously wounded, but survived the shooting.
Antonov was placed on trial in Italy with three Turks
and two other Bulgaria
ns for the attack against the Pope. Ağca named Antonov as his co-conspirator before his conviction for attempted murder
.
The case against Antonov fell apart. Italian prosecutors could not prove that the Bulgarian secret service
had hired Mehmet Ali Ağca to assassinate the Pope at the behest of the Soviet Union
, which feared the Polish
Pope's influence in then Communist Eastern Europe
. Antonov was acquitted of the charges in 1986 following a two year trial. The Italian court said that there was not enough evidence to support a conviction
.
Antonov returned to Bulgaria following his acquittal. He refused to speak publicly about his time in prison
. His mental
and physical health rapidly declined and he spent rest of his life in isolation from others.
Bulgarian President Petar Stoyanov
called for a legal exoneration of Antonov's reputation
in 2000 saying that it was "important for the sake of clearing Bulgaria's image."
Pope John Paul II made his first and only official visit to Bulgaria in 2002. The Pope publicly rejected the allegations that Bulgaria's Communist government had been behind his 1981 attack and never believed in the Bulgarian connection.
Segei Antonov was found dead in his Sofia, Bulgaria apartment in the summer of 2007. Doctors believe that he may have died of natural causes as much as two days before he was found.
Some years before his death, Sergei Antonov became a prototype of the main hero of the novel Ekzekoutorat ("The Executioner") of Stefan Kisyov
.
Bulgarians
The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
airline
Airline
An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
representative who was accused of involvement in an assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
attempt against Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
by Mehmet Ali Ağca
Mehmet Ali Agca
Mehmet Ali Ağca is a Turkish assassin who murdered left-wing journalist Abdi İpekçi on February 1, 1979 and later shot and wounded Pope John Paul II on May 13, 1981, after escaping from a Turkish prison. After serving 19 years of imprisonment in Italy, he was deported to Turkey, where he served a...
in 1981.
Antonov, who worked as a Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
-based representative for Balkan Airlines, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
's national airline, was arrested in 1981 by Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
authorities and charged with complicity
Complicity
Complicity is a novel by Scottish author Iain Banks. It was published in 1993.-Plot introduction:Its two main characters are Cameron Colley, a journalist on a Scottish newspaper called The Caledonian, which resembles The Scotsman, and a serial murderer whose identity is a mystery...
after the assassination attempt against Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
by Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
national Mehmet Ali Ağca on May 13, 1981. Pope John Paul II was seriously wounded, but survived the shooting.
Antonov was placed on trial in Italy with three Turks
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and two other Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
ns for the attack against the Pope. Ağca named Antonov as his co-conspirator before his conviction for attempted murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
.
The case against Antonov fell apart. Italian prosecutors could not prove that the Bulgarian secret service
Secret service
A secret service describes a government agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For instance, a country may establish a secret service which has some...
had hired Mehmet Ali Ağca to assassinate the Pope at the behest of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, which feared the Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
Pope's influence in then Communist Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
. Antonov was acquitted of the charges in 1986 following a two year trial. The Italian court said that there was not enough evidence to support a conviction
Conviction
In law, a conviction is the verdict that results when a court of law finds a defendant guilty of a crime.The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal . In Scotland and in the Netherlands, there can also be a verdict of "not proven", which counts as an acquittal...
.
Antonov returned to Bulgaria following his acquittal. He refused to speak publicly about his time in prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
. His mental
Mind
The concept of mind is understood in many different ways by many different traditions, ranging from panpsychism and animism to traditional and organized religious views, as well as secular and materialist philosophies. Most agree that minds are constituted by conscious experience and intelligent...
and physical health rapidly declined and he spent rest of his life in isolation from others.
Bulgarian President Petar Stoyanov
Petar Stoyanov
Petar Stefanov Stoyanov is a former President of Bulgaria from 1997 until 2002. He was elected as a candidate of the Union of Democratic Forces...
called for a legal exoneration of Antonov's reputation
Reputation
Reputation of a social entity is an opinion about that entity, typically a result of social evaluation on a set of criteria...
in 2000 saying that it was "important for the sake of clearing Bulgaria's image."
Pope John Paul II made his first and only official visit to Bulgaria in 2002. The Pope publicly rejected the allegations that Bulgaria's Communist government had been behind his 1981 attack and never believed in the Bulgarian connection.
Segei Antonov was found dead in his Sofia, Bulgaria apartment in the summer of 2007. Doctors believe that he may have died of natural causes as much as two days before he was found.
Some years before his death, Sergei Antonov became a prototype of the main hero of the novel Ekzekoutorat ("The Executioner") of Stefan Kisyov
Stefan Kisyov
Stefan Kisyov is a novelist, journalist, playwright and short story writer. Kisyov was born in Stara Zagora in 1963. He studied at Sofia and Plovdiv universities, and also at the Sorbonne in Paris...
.