| Vladimir Arutyunian | |
|---|---|
Arutyunian waiting with the hand grenade in a handkerchief |
|
| Born | March 12, 1978 Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, USSR |
| Nationality | Georgian |
| Ethnicity | Armenian |
| Known for | Attempted assassination of George W. Bush and Mikheil Saakashvili |
Vladimir Arutyunian (born 12 March 1978, Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, USSR) is an ethnic Armenian born in Georgia known for his 10 May 2005 attempt to assassinate United States President George W. Bush and Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili which failed when the hand grenade he threw at the two failed to detonate. He was later arrested and sentenced to life in prison.
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On 10 May 2005, Arutyunian stood for hours in the hot sun wearing a heavy leather coat and muttering and cursing to himself as he waited for United States President George W. Bush and Georgia President Mikheil Saakashvili to speak. When President Bush began speaking, he 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 the centre of Tbilisi. The grenade landed 18.6 metres (61 ft) from the podium, near where Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, his wife Sandra E. Roelofs, Laura Bush, and other officials were seated.[1]
The grenade failed to detonate. Although original reports indicated that the grenade was not live, it was later revealed that it was.[2] After Arutyunian pulled the pin and threw the grenade, it hit a girl, cushioning its impact. The red handkerchief remained wrapped around the grenade, and it prevented the striker lever from releasing. A Georgian security officer quickly removed the grenade, and Arutyunian disappeared.[1][3]
Arutyunian later explained that he threw the grenade "towards the heads" so that "the shrapnel would fly behind the bulletproof glass".[4] Bush and Saakashvili did not learn of the incident until after the rally.[5]
On 18 July 2005 Georgian Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili issued photos of an unidentified suspect and announced a reward of 150,000 Lari (USD $80,000) for information leading to the suspect's identification.[6]
At the request of the Georgian government, the Federal Bureau of Investigation began an investigation into the incident. Extra manpower was brought in from the surrounding region to help with the investigation. In one picture of the crowd, the FBI noted a man in the bleachers with a large camera. He was a visiting professor from Boise, Idaho. FBI agents contacted him and, with his photographs, were able to identify a suspect.[1]
Acting on a tip from a hotline, police raided Arutyunian's home where he lived with his mother[7] on 20 July 2005. During an ensuing gunfight, Arutyunian killed the head of the Interior Ministry's counterintelligence department, Zurab Kvlividze. 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 Georgian Special Forces.[8]
DNA samples from the man matched the DNA samples from the handkerchief. Georgian police later found a chemical lab and a stockpile of explosives Arutyunian had built up.[1] Twenty liters of sulfuric acid, several drawers full of mercury thermometers, a microscope, and "enough dangerous substances to carry out several terrorist acts" were found.[9]
| "I don't consider myself a terrorist, I'm just a human being" |
| —Arutyunian[6] |
Although he initially admitted his guilt when arrested, Arutyunian later refused to cooperate during the trial. After pleading not guilty, he refused to answer questions in court.[3] At one hearing, Arutyunian appeared in the courtroom with his mouth sewn shut.[10] On 11 January 2006 a Georgian court sentenced him to life imprisonment for the attempted assassination of George Bush and Mikheil Saakashvili, and the killing of Officer Kvlividze. In September 2005, a United States Federal Grand Jury also indicted Arutyunian, and could ask to extradite him if he is ever released. He is not eligible for parole, and could only be released under a presidential pardon.[10] [11]