GEORGIA: Georgian sentenced to life for U.S. President George W. Bush grenade attack

Record ID: 643451

  • Title: GEORGIA: Georgian sentenced to life for U.S. President George W. Bush grenade attack
  • Date: 12th January 2006
  • Summary: POLICE VAN TAKING ARUTUNYAN AWAY FROM COURT HOUSE
  • Embargoed: 27th January 2006 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Georgia
  • Country: Georgia
  • Reuters ID: LVA4E3EDKL8UH4HQ3DK7BSV6MMMY
  • Story Text: A man who tried to blow up U.S. President George W. Bush with a grenade in the former Soviet state of Georgia last year was sentenced to life imprisonment on Wednesday (January 11), a court said.
    Vladimir Arutunyan, a Tbilisi resident, threw the grenade at Bush while the president was addressing a crowd in the main square of the Georgian capital last May.
    U.S. officials said at the time the grenade, which landed within 50 metres of Bush, failed to explode because of a malfunction.
    Arutunyan confessed to the crime but later retracted his confession. His lawyer Liza Japaridze said he would appeal.
    The security scare marred Bush's trip to Georgia, intended to show U.S. support for the government that came to power after the "Rose Revolution" of 2003.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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