Sergei Antonov

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.

Antonov, who worked as a Rome-based representative for Balkan Airlines, Pope John Paul II was seriously wounded but survived the shooting.

Antonov was placed on trial in Italy with three Turks and two other Bulgarians for the attack against the Pope. Ağca named Antonov as his co-conspirator before his conviction for attempted murder. The Pope publicly rejected the allegations that Bulgaria's Communist government had been behind his 1981 attack and never believed in the Bulgarian connection.

Antonov was found dead in his Sofia, Bulgaria apartment in the summer of 2007. Doctors believe that he may have died of natural causes up to two days before he was found.