«There are elements such as to believe that the two girls were sacrificed to something incredible, to reasons of State», something that John Paul II himself defined as «an international intrigue».

This was said by former judge Ilario Martella, heard by the bicameral commission of inquiry into the disappearances of Mirella Gregori and Emanuela Orlandi , who thus reiterated his inquisitorial hypotheses on the so-called Bulgarian trail, the one attributable to the Stasi. Martella investigated both the case of the attack on John Paul II, which occurred on 13 May 1981, and that of the disappearance of Orlandi and it was precisely from this connection that he started in the hearing, before answering the commissioners' questions. Martella reconstructed the events of May 13 in St. Peter's Square which had Alì Agcà as the protagonist, but perhaps also "a second man, an accomplice", who would have fired a further shot, bringing the number of bullets fired that day to three.

"Here Wojtyla played a bad joke on us - Martella also commented - by setting one of the bullets in the Madonna of Fatima", thus removing her from the investigations. The fact is that the attack is connected to the Orlandi case, according to Martella, because the Bulgarian regime wanted to distract attention from its services and in particular from the figure of Sergej Antonov. This is why, therefore, the Stasi would be responsible for "creating episodes of distraction for public opinion" such as the disappearances of Mirella Gregori and Emanuela Orlandi. «The Stasi – he also recalls – was a highly respectable criminal organization, not only was I followed but I also received threats».

As regards the fate of the girls, according to Martella, as witnesses they were in any case "dangerous" and hence his words that they would have been "sacrificed", precisely because of that "international intrigue" of which John Paul II spoke in visit for Christmas to the Orlandis' house in 1983. «I believe they were sacrificed – said Martella – killed not immediately, but perhaps after a while. Keeping them alive would have been dangerous because they could have been fundamental witnesses...". As for the Vatican, Martella said he was convinced that it has "dossiers", although he added: "I don't think it is that involved, at least not as much as has been tried to say recently, but having Wojtyla spoken of international intrigue, some element must have have it". Indeed, he even proposed: "It would be interesting if the current Pontiff intervened to explain whether what John Paul II had said was true."

The Commission, chaired by Senator Andrea De Priamo, also heard Martella's daughter, who was herself the subject of threats, and Adele Rando, the judge who dealt with the Orlandi case from '90 to '96, and he investigated the Russian and German leads, that of the Gray Wolves and also the former gendarme, Raul Bonarelli. However, both women asked for their hearings to be kept secret.

(Unioneonline/D)

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