Sergei Antonov (Bulgarian: Сергей Антонов) (11 July 1948 – 1 August 2007) was a Bulgarian airline representative accused of involvement in an assassination attempt against Pope John Paul II by Mehmet Ali Ağca in 1981.
[1] Antonov, who worked as a Rome-based representative for Balkan Airlines,[1] 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 Ağca on May 13, 1981.
His mental and physical health rapidly declined [1] and he spent rest of his life in isolation from others.
[2] 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.
[3] The Pope publicly rejected the allegations that Bulgaria's Communist government had been behind his 1981 attack and never believed in the Bulgarian connection.