Vladimir Arutyunian is a Georgian national who, on 10 May 2005, attempted to assassinate United States President George W Bush and Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili by throwing a hand grenade at both of them.
17 Facts About Vladimir Arutyunian
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Vladimir Arutyunian was later arrested and sentenced to life in prison.
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Vladimir Arutyunian, a Georgian citizen and ethnic Armenian, was born on 12 March 1978 in Tbilisi, Soviet Georgia.
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Vladimir Arutyunian joined the Democratic Union for Revival party led by Aslan Abashidze in January 2004, but soon after left the organization's ranks.
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Vladimir Arutyunian joined the Revival party in the same month Mikheil Saakashvili became president of Georgia and had led Adjara in a crisis by refusing to obey the central government authorities.
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On 10 May 2005, Arutyunian waited for the United States President George W Bush and Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to speak in Tbilisi's central Liberty Square.
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When Bush began speaking, Vladimir Arutyunian threw a Soviet-made RGD-5 hand grenade, wrapped in a red tartan handkerchief, toward the podium where Bush stood as he addressed the crowd.
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Mikheil Saakashvili 8.
Vladimir Arutyunian later said that he threw the grenade "towards the heads" so that "the shrapnel would fly behind the bulletproof glass".
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Vladimir Arutyunian then fled into the woods in the village of Vashlijvari on the outskirts of Tbilisi.
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DNA samples from Vladimir Arutyunian matched the DNA samples from the handkerchief.
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Georgian police later found a chemical lab and a stockpile of explosives, chemicals and other material Vladimir Arutyunian had built up in his apartment.
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Vladimir Arutyunian said that he had attempted to assassinate both presidents because he hated Georgia's new government for being a "puppet" of the United States.
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Vladimir Arutyunian further stated that he did not regret what he did and would do it again if he had the chance.
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Vladimir Arutyunian initially admitted his guilt when arrested but refused to cooperate during the trial.
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Vladimir Arutyunian pleaded not guilty, then refused to answer questions in court.
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Vladimir Arutyunian's lawyer Elisabed Japaridze said after the conviction and sentencing that she would appeal.
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Vladimir Arutyunian is not eligible for parole, and could only be released under a presidential pardon, but such pardons are almost never granted in Georgia.