Vladimir Arutinian

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Vladimir Arutinian (his surname is also transliterated as Arutyunian) (born on 12 March 1978 in Tbilisi, Georgia) is an ethnic Armenian man who attempted to assassinate U.S. President George W. Bush during President Bush's visit to Georgia on 10 May 2005.[1]

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[edit] Grenade incident

On 10 May 2005, Arutinian threw a Soviet-made RGD-5 hand grenade, wrapped in a red tartan (plaid) handkerchief, toward the podium where President Bush stood as he addressed a crowd in Freedom Square in downtown Tbilisi.[2] The grenade landed 18.6 metres (61 feet) from the podium, near which Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, his wife Sandra Roelofs, Laura Bush, and other officials were seated. The grenade failed to detonate, however.

[edit] Investigation

Georgian officials claimed that the grenade was a non-combative engineering type used in training, which either did not contain explosives or would have had to be very near the President to cause him any harm, and that it had been placed approximately 100 feet from the podium where Bush was speaking, in an attempt meant to scare the crowd and gain media attention.[3] However, after an investigation, Bryan Paarmann, head of the FBI office in Tbilisi, reported that the grenade was a live grenade which had been thrown, hitting a girl in the crowd, which cushioned the impact and prevented the grenade from detonating.[4] Officials initially said that President Bush had been in no danger, but the Bryan Paarmann of the FBI later identified the attack as endangering the President's life, saying "We consider this act to be a threat against the health and welfare of the president of the United States and the president of Georgia as well as the welfare of the multitudes of Georgian people who had turned out for this event."[4]

[edit] Arrest

On 18 July 2005 Georgian Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili issued photos of an unidentified suspect and announced a reward of 150,000 Lari (USD $83,000) for information leading to the suspect's identification.

Police arrested Arutinian after a shootout on 20 July 2005. During the skirmish Arutinian killed a Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs agent. He then fled into the woods in the village of Vashlijvari on the outskirts of Tbilisi. After being wounded in the leg, he was captured by Special Forces soldiers about an hour later. He confessed in the hospital as staff treated him for gunshot wounds.[5]

The city court of Tbilisi sentenced him to life imprisonment on 11 January 2006.[6]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Elaine Quijano. "Secret Service told grenade landed near Bush", CNN, 2005-05-10. Retrieved on March 22, 2007.
  2. ^ The Case of the Failed Hand Grenade Attack: Man Who Tried to Assassinate President Convicted Overseas. FBI.gov. Federal Bureau of Investigation (2006-01-11). Retrieved on March 22, 2007.
  3. ^ Elaine Quijano, Ed Henry. "Grenade near Bush 'was inactive'", CNN, 2005-05-11. Retrieved on March 22, 2007.
  4. ^ a b Nick Paton Walsh. "FBI says hand grenade thrown at Bush was live", Guardian Unlimited, 2005-05-19. Retrieved on March 22, 2007.
  5. ^ Terry Frieden. "Alleged would-be Bush assassin indicted", CNN, 2005-09-07. Retrieved on March 22, 2007.
  6. ^ Ryan Chilcote. "Bush grenade attacker gets life", CNN, 2006-01-11. Retrieved on March 22, 2007.
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