SHOOTING OF THE POPE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000505120037-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 15, 2010
• Sequence Number: 37
• Publication Date: May 13, 1983
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/09/15 :CIA-RDP90-0055
''_'_'
''~^ T I CLE A.PP:.~ 13 Nay 19 8 3
%3~ ?AGE- /~ ~
HE V~'ASHING'TON POST
SHOOTING OF THE POPE
28000505120037-0
Secrec~r-.Shro~,ds Probe of `Bulgarian~Connection,'
By Jonathan C. Randal ~ As a, result, little is ?Z~own of how Most ?officials and other..~?sources
wast,mgwn.POet ror.,~n servla much independent evidence sup- are Waiting t0 . see .if iVlartell8--~vlll
ROME-Two years after the Pow -the hypothesis that $ulgarian find?.some?'".smoking gun" to tie `.the
shooting of Pope John .Paul II, .the intelligence officers plotted },o ~"kill investigation together.
John?Paul on behalf of-the kremlin The .two Bulgarian officials other
xorrent. of accusations implicating ~ - ,
Bi~aria and the"Kremlin -itself has: '~~ ?~ ~ PoPe s support for the than Antonov who were charged by "
~tibaided into .an ~d ;? Solidarity'union in his'~:native Po- Maitella'gre~iving-in $ulgaria`and-
.dy. of_ thebr?ies; - land..A ,.?variety -nf_ aon~ommunist: appear unlikely is be extradited:~t-
political .and. ~tiiplomat~c .machrns-- -inteli ncies, . y..:_~~,.., tle`has emet~ed-about=any posse-ble
Lion, .and prolonged ar+ticipation-of - mince '~ -~ --~ Sinks :between Bulgaria ;and two
results~of Italy's ~irwestigation. ~ cluding~~oee -0f'Ilrrkey,~srael.and --~ Turks Sailed by Marcella ~uvho sup-.
major. ;awestern .:powers, ~:e not yet
a~Only one taciturn man knows . oonvuroed~hat-,the .Bulgarians were posedlyprovrded??f-gca-with~is p-s-
?wbetber aconvincing case exists for - E>:- tol.and :com-eyed an offer of X1:75
what-.the Italian .media has dubbed : ~ - million to shoot the pontiff.
< ,, Agca;=~reeented~vrth.s.file ofpho-
the '.~Huit?arian ,connection.' -He ;iis ' 'Some Ita3ians are convinced 'that'
tograp'hs, -has ~prcked mug slots =nf
~Ilario lvlartella, the investigating the three`'$ulgarians with !whom 3~e before last year's publicity "Martella !
magistrate empowered'to probe the was count3ng~tieavi}y on the prospect ;
sometimes- uestionable alle ations suppose3~ ~~~ ~ -may ,13, of ~ ~yeaars .of :imprisonment to gain
q g 1981, ~.ahooting. He e}so ?tlescribed
tby~he Turkish --would-be assassin, . AnZonov's :-apartment -after saying n-o-~ information :from those de-
M_ ehmet Ali A~a~'that he -received ' ~ taineil -- ,~~ .'-
that be antt tl+ere with.them:
help from imprisoned Bulgarian air- ~ ~ description, lwwever, pgce ~ Inl~gca's case, at,least, MarLeila's
' line official Bargee Antonov. mentioned having -near a foldir}g tactics aPP~r ~ have paid off. Agca
_-~ = Interviews tivith ~ government offs- woodemdoot.that in fact was present first-~~walled with -vague testimo-
caals and other sources familiar with in otter impartments -in the ?building -ny and:izrsisted that he. acted alone.
~~:=case during a.three-week jour- . but:twt ;in .Antonov's, acoocding ~to After Berving~ leis than a year of his
~ialistic inquiry in Italy, Turkey, Bul- I~~:~r?ces. life~entence,-iwwever,~he -implicated
garia> Switzerland -and France sug- This ~iacrepancy and ofhers have the, :$ulgarians and fellow Turks in
December 1981 and .apparently has
.gear that the Italian magistrate has beer"'.}~cited by ?Antonov's lawyers as talked -~ Martella ever since.
?-gone furthest in the investigation. suggesting that Agcy -0vas~fed his in- When ca's statements are com-
Dhartella has a reputation for probe- formation ~by .Italian eece?et service ~
ty, and a higher court. that has con- agents who visited him 'm jail in au- pared " to challenges by Antono~~ s
sidered submissions from him and tumn.of 1981 before the Turk finally lawyers, however, the impression
~to cooperate in Lhe'Probe. The . ,emerges that Agca has not. proved
Antonov's lawyers twice has upheld begs infallible.
.the Bulgarian's detention. Btil'~arian ''end Soviet ,govermnents , In addition' to noting the ~ nonex-
- But Marcella, who legally has up ~~ ~~~ the charges and sug-
~to-5!!' years before deciding whether g that they are part~of a~smear latent door in Antonov's apartment;
b western =intelligence the~,Aulgarian's lawyers .have pro-'
to send Antonov to trial may choose y- duped hotel bills indicating that?An-
to ._take until early next year ~to,', agencies including~theZIA.
~- ? The theory of Bulgarian involve- ' tonods wife Rossitska wasalready in
present his case aeoordin~_Italian_, ? ment~~s oorrsidered plausible in part Yugoslavia' ' en route :to` Bulgaria
sources. lvleanwhile the magistrate,. when Agcy saidthat she was present
because ~of .a `pattern,of Bulgarian
= other Italian officials and'even the- ?di~,~~? ~~~y ~ Icy in tle apartment duiutg one of the
? IIS. Embassy ?here have clamped; Turk's;neetings there.
anii~'Jt'nrkey, including ~niuggling of
`'. heavy secrecy on the investigation:.'. The.,Antonovs' daughter Ani, who.
arois,-aatcotics and support:for:sub- aLc~ was named by Agra-as~having
They were .troubled by leaks and versive paramilitary. groups. ' :. ~ ~ ?
charges at the end of last year over Statements " by Agcy have set iri been Present, was not in-Rome at all
findings' regarding Antonov and two '. motion a parallel investigation of ~~ during that schcx~l year. but in'Sofia. -
" other Rome-based Bulgarian em- Antonov's lawyers have intimated
loves charged in the case. i alleged Bulgarian spying in Italy and ,
_ P involvement in a stillborn plot to .kill '; that-two .Italian secret service. offi-
? ? ~ Solidarity leader Lech- W~lesa'during ~ seals, who are kncwvn to have visited
a visit to Rome in 1981. Agcy in prison, fed false information
Months after ?last fad's burst of ~to 'him. The lawyers have suggested
publicity, the case today bobs to the- that the Italian -agents ?may have
surface only occasionally in'Italv.. shown Agcy photographs-of Antonov
and the two B~ilgarians ~+dhom le-
later identified for Martella.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/09/15 :CIA-RDP90-005528000505120037-0