On February 20, 1987, the Turkish terrorist Mehmed Ali Agca was sentenced by the Italian court to life in prison for the assassination attempt on John Paul II.
The assassination attempt took place on May 13, 1981 in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican. While he was going out into the square, Pope John Paul II was shot by Agca. The Pope was pierced by four bullets and lost a large amount of blood, but was saved thanks to the quick intervention of surgeons. Agca was immediately arrested.
Later, three more Turks and four Bulgarians were accused of complicity in the preparation of the assassination attempt. These are diplomats Ivan Donchev, Zhelyu Vassilev, Todor Aivazov and Sergey Antonov. Undoubtedly the most famous of these is the name of Antonov.
At the request of Pope John – Paul II, who visited the prisoner in 1983, he was pardoned by the President of Italy Carlo Ciampi in June 2000. After 19 years in an Italian prison, Agca also served time in a Turkish prison for the murder of a journalist in 1979. He was released early on January 12, 2006. The Ministry of Justice appealed the release and the Court of Cassation overturned it. Agca was detained again. He was finally released on January 18, 2010.