Vladimir Arutyunian ' onMouseout='HidePop("85392")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Tbilisi">Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form Tp'ilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
,
GeorgiaGeorgia Georgia Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Situated at the juncture of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the east by Azerbaijan...
— present) is an ethnic Armenian born in Georgia known for his 10 May 2005 attempt to assassinate
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
President
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....
and
Georgian PresidentThe President of Georgia is the head of state, supreme commander-in-chief and holder of the highest office within the Government of Georgia. Executive power is split between the President and the Prime Minister, who is the head of government. The office was first introduced after Georgia’s...
Mikheil SaakashviliMikheil Saakashvili is a Georgian politician, the President of Georgia and leader of the United National Movement Party...
which failed when the
hand grenadeA hand grenade is an anti-personnel weapon that explodes a short time after release. The French military term grenade probably comes from the shape of the pomegranate fruit, which is also called grenade in French....
he threw at the two failed to detonate.
Vladimir Arutyunian ' onMouseout='HidePop("85392")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Tbilisi">Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form Tp'ilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
,
GeorgiaGeorgia Georgia Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Situated at the juncture of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the east by Azerbaijan...
— present) is an ethnic Armenian born in Georgia known for his 10 May 2005 attempt to assassinate
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
President
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....
and
Georgian PresidentThe President of Georgia is the head of state, supreme commander-in-chief and holder of the highest office within the Government of Georgia. Executive power is split between the President and the Prime Minister, who is the head of government. The office was first introduced after Georgia’s...
Mikheil SaakashviliMikheil Saakashvili is a Georgian politician, the President of Georgia and leader of the United National Movement Party...
which failed when the
hand grenadeA hand grenade is an anti-personnel weapon that explodes a short time after release. The French military term grenade probably comes from the shape of the pomegranate fruit, which is also called grenade in French....
he threw at the two failed to detonate. He was arrested later arrested and sentenced to life in prison.
Assassination attempt
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 hand grenade, wrapped in a red
tartanTartan is a pattern consisting of criss-crossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven cloth, now used in many other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Scotland. Scottish kilts almost always have tartan patterns...
(plaid)
handkerchiefA handkerchief is a form of a kerchief, typically a hemmed square of thin fabric that can be carried in the pocket or purse, and which is intended for personal hygiene purposes such as wiping one's hands or face, or blowing one's nose...
, toward the podium where President Bush stood as he addressed a crowd in Freedom Square in downtown Tbilisi. The grenade landed 18.6 metres (61 ft) from the podium, near which
Georgian PresidentThe President of Georgia is the head of state, supreme commander-in-chief and holder of the highest office within the Government of Georgia. Executive power is split between the President and the Prime Minister, who is the head of government. The office was first introduced after Georgia’s...
Mikheil SaakashviliMikheil Saakashvili is a Georgian politician, the President of Georgia and leader of the United National Movement Party...
, his wife Sandra E. Roelofs,
Laura BushLaura Lane Welch Bush is the wife of the forty-third President of the United States, George W. Bush, and was the First Lady of the United States from January 20, 2001 to January 20, 2009....
, and other officials were seated.
The grenade, however, failed to detonate. Although original reports indicated that the grenade was not live, it was later revealed that it was. After Arutyunian threw the grenade, it hit a girl, cushioning its impact and preventing it from detonating. Furthermore, the red handkerchief was wrapped around the grenade, preventing detonation. A Georgian security officer quickly removed the grenade, and Arutyunian disappeared.
Arutyunian later explained that he threw the grenade "towards the heads" so that "the shrapnel would fly behind the bulletproof glass". Bush and Saakashvili did not learn of the incident until after the rally.
Investigation
On 18 July 2005 Georgian
Interior MinisterAn interior ministry is a government ministry typically responsible for policing, national security, and immigration matters. The ministry is often headed by a minister of the interior or minister of home affairs...
Vano MerabishviliIvane Merabishvili is a Georgian politician who has served as the country’s Ministry of Internal Affairs since December 18, 2004...
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.
At the request of the Georgian government, the Federal Bureau of Investigations 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,
IdahoIdaho is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States of America. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans." Idaho was admitted to the Union on 3 July 1890 as the 43rd state....
. FBI agents contacted him and, with his photographs, were able to identify a suspect.
Arrest
Acting on a tip from a hotline, police raided Arutyunian's home 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
TbilisiTbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form Tp'ilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
. After being wounded in the leg, he was captured by
Georgian Special ForcesThe Georgian Armed Forces , is the name of the unified armed forces of Georgia. The Georgian military is a defence force consisting of an Georgian Land Forces, Georgian Navy, Georgian Air Force and a paramilitary organization Georgian National Guard...
.
DNADeoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms and some viruses. The main role of DNA molecules is the long-term storage of information...
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. 20 liters of sulfuric acid, several drawers full of mercury thermometers, a microscope, and "enough dangerous substances to carry out several terrorist acts" were found.
Trial
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. At one hearing, after demanding to meet human rights activists, he sewed his lips together.
On 11 January 2006 a Georgian court sentenced him to
life imprisonmentLife imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious felony crime where the convicted person is to remain in prison for the rest of his or her life...
for the attempted assassination as well as for the killing of the Georgian officer. 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.