Georgian guilty in Bush attack Life sentence given for assassination try
By Misha Dzhinzhikhashvili Associated Press Published January 12, 2006
TBILISI, Georgia -- A court Wednesday convicted a man of trying to assassinate President Bush and the leader of Georgia by throwing a grenade at them during a rally last year. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Vladimir Arutyunian also was convicted of killing a police officer during a shootout while authorities were trying to arrest him several weeks after the May 10, 2005, grenade incident at a rally that drew tens of thousands of people to the capital of this former Soviet republic.
The grenade that Arutyunian threw during the rally attended by Bush and President Mikhail Saakashvili landed about 100 feet from the stage where they were standing behind a bulletproof barrier and did not explode. No one was hurt.
The grenade, which was wrapped in a cloth, apparently malfunctioned, investigators said.
Arutyunian, 27, has acknowledged that he threw the grenade in the direction of the stage and said he would try again to kill Bush if he had the chance.
He was arrested in July on the outskirts of Tbilisi after a shootout that killed one officer and was shown in video broadcast on television as saying from a hospital bed that he had thrown the grenade high with the goal of having it explode so that the bulletproof glass would not block shrapnel.
Bush and Saakashvili learned of the grenade only after the rally.
Arutyunian did not testify during the trial, which began last month. In December, he appeared in court with his mouth sewn shut in what he called a show of solidarity with thousands of inmates on a hunger strike in the former Soviet republic.
The motivation for throwing the grenade was never clear. He was identified as a member of a party that supported Aslan Abashidze, the former leader of the Adzharia region who was a foe of Saakashvili.
Abashidze was eventually driven from office amid protests in the region that echoed the Rose Revolution demonstrations that helped bring Saakashvili to power in late 2003.
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/europe/article_1075380.php/Bush_attacker_gets_life_in_prison
Bush attacker gets life in prison Jan 12, 2006, 9:01 GMT
TBILISI, Georgia (UPI) -- A court in Tbilisi, Georgia, has sentenced a man to life in prison for throwing a grenade at U.S. President George Bush during his visit to Tbilisi last May.
Vladimir Arutyunian, 27, was found guilty on charges including terrorism, treason, attempted assassination and the killing of a police officer during his arrest.
The judge at the trial took four hours to read out the verdict, during which time Arutyunian, an ethnic Armenian, paced back and forth in a 2-meter metal cage, the BBC reported Wednesday.
On May 10, 2005, Bush and Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili were the main speakers at a rally attended by thousands of Georgians in the capital`s Freedom Square when a grenade landed 100 feet from them. The grenade did not explode because of a malfunction, police said.
After his arrest in July, Arutyunian was shown on television admitting that he had thrown the grenade. He also said he hated Georgia`s new government for being a puppet of the United States and did not regret what he did.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/11/AR2006011101980.html
Man Convicted of Trying to Kill Bush at Georgian Rally
By Misha Dzhindzhikhashvili Associated Press Thursday, January 12, 2006; Page A15
TBILISI, Georgia, Jan. 11 -- A court sentenced a man to life in prison Wednesday after it convicted him of trying to assassinate President Bush and the leader of Georgia by throwing a grenade at them during a rally last year.
The defendant, Vladimir Arutyunian, was also convicted of killing a policeman in a shootout as authorities tried to arrest him several weeks after the grenade incident at the May 10 rally. Tens of thousands of people attended that event in Tbilisi, the capital of this former Soviet republic.
Vladimir Arutyunian, shown in defendants' cage at his trial, was sentenced to life in prison for throwing a grenade at Bush last year. The device did not detonate. (By Georgy Abdaladze -- Associated Press)
The best photographs from throughout the world taken by Washington Post photographers in 2005. Bush and Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili were standing on a stage behind a bulletproof barrier when Arutyunian threw the grenade. It landed about 100 feet from the two leaders. No one was hurt.
The grenade, which was wrapped in a cloth, apparently malfunctioned, investigators said.
The motivation for throwing the grenade was never clear. Arutyunian has been identified as a member of a party that supported Aslan Abashidze, the former leader of the Ajaria region who was an adamant foe of Saakashvili. Abashidze was driven from office during rising protests in the region that echoed the massive demonstrations in late 2003 that helped bring Saakashvili to power.
Arutyunian, 27, has acknowledged that he threw the grenade in the direction of the stage and said he would try again to kill Bush if he had the chance.
He was arrested in July on the outskirts of Tbilisi, after the shootout. In a video broadcast on television, he was shown saying from a hospital bed that he had thrown the grenade high so the bulletproof glass would not block shrapnel.
Bush and Saakashvili learned of the grenade only after the rally.
Arutyunian did not testify during the trial, which began last month. In December, he appeared in court with his mouth sutured shut in what he called a show of solidarity with thousands of Georgian inmates conducting a hunger strike.
FBI agents assisted Georgian authorities in the investigation, helping to question witnesses and examining evidence.