BULGARIA ACCUSED OF PLOT ON POPE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000505110045-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 27, 2010
• Sequence Number: 45
• Publication Date: June 20, 1984
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/27: CIA-RDP90-00552R000505110045-2
ARTICLE AP E~A~REED NEW YORK TIMES
ON PAGE - 20 June 1984
BULGARIA ACCUSED Mr. Albano said he submitted t the
page report on his inquiry to o Judge
ge
ilario Martelia. who is in charee of the
" uavw~asQUULL umu uac --6 -as va
Turk-
OF PLOT ON POPE the Pope Mehmet All Agca, a son.
ish national al now serving life in prison.
Italian Prosecutor Says Soviet
May Have Given Support
ROME, June 19 (AP) - An Italian
prosecutor said today that Bulgaria,
possibly with Soviet support, master.
minded the 1981 plot to assassinate
Pope John Paul II, apparently in an at-
tempt to eliminate the Pope's support
for the independent Polish labor union
Solidarity.
"That's the conclusion of my investi-
gation," the prosecutor, Antonio Alba-
no, said in an interview.
Mr. Albano confirmed that his report
on the Pope's shooting says that "there
was a specific interest in killing the
Pontiff - the social convulsions in Po-
land" caused by the rise of the now-out-
lawed Solidarity union.
. Suggesting that the Soviet Union
might have been behind the plot to kill
the Pope, Mr. Albano said: "Do you
think Bulgaria could do this sort of
thing without Moscow's agreement?
Do you think Bulgaria's decision to
boycott the Olympic Games was made
by Bulgaria alone? I don't think so. But
port does not mention the Soviet Union
by name, but, speaking of, the turmoil
in Poland, says that "some political
figure of great power took note of this
most grave situation and, mindful of
the vital needs of the Eastern bloc, de-
cided it was necessary to kill Pope Wo j-
tyla."
The Italian Government has ordered
an investigation into how the report
was made public.
The report recommends that three
Bulgarians and four other Turks be
tried in connection with the attack on
the Pope, Mr. Albano said, adding that
he expected Judge Marcella to decide
is on his recommendations next month.
is The three . Bulgarians Mr. Albano
said should be brought trial are Sergei
Ivanov Antonov, former station man-
ager of the Bulgarian airlines in Rome,
and two former Bulgarian Embassy
employees, Todor Aivazov and Zhelyo
Kolev Vassilev.
All three face charges of complicity
in the attack on the Pope. Among them,
only Mr. Antonov is in custody. The
others returned to Bulgaria. '
On Monday, Judge Martella granted
a defense request that Mr.'Antonov be
removed from jail for medical reasons
and placed under house arrest. Mr. An
-tonov had been allowed to be placed
under house arrest last December after
13 months in prison, but he was re-
turned to jail in March.
The Turks Mr. Albano said should be
-tried are Bekir Celenk, in custody in
Bulgaria; Omer Bagci, in jail in Italy;
Oral Celik, whose whereabouts are un-
known, and Musa Serdar Celebi, in jail
in Italy. -All four Turks have been
charged with complicity in the attack
on the Pope.
Bulgaria Denies Involvement
Bulgaria has dented any involvement
in the shooting of the Pope and has
nection with the shooting of the Pope on charged that the allegations were part
May 13,1981, in St. Peter's Square: of a Western 'plot to discredit the Com-
The prosecutor's report was first ! munist nation. r.
made public in an article in The New ; The prosecutor also dismissed as "a
York Times by Claire Sterling. The re- strange argument" a contention by
of course this is my personal opinion."
Soviet Union Not Named
He confirmed that his report does not
specifically mention any Soviet con-
sured to implicate Bulgarians in the at-
tack on the Pope. Mr. Albano said
much of the information on which his
report was based came from Mr. Agca.
Btif 'he said Mr. Agca's information
provided only "starting points" for the
state inquiry.
The prosecutor said that his report
,was covered by judicial secrecy and
that copies have been given only to the
;investigating' magistrate and defense
lawyers.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/27: CIA-RDP90-00552R000505110045-2