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Radio Free Europe, Czech Rep
July 21 2005
Shootout Ends Georgian Manhunt For Grenade Suspect
Presidents Bush (left) and Saakashvili during the May visit
(Interpress)
21 July 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Georgian police have announced the arrest
of a 27-year-old ethnic Armenian suspected of throwing a live hand
grenade in the direction of the Georgian and U.S. presidents during
a high-profile public appearance in Tbilisi in May.
The suspect, Vladimir Arutyunian, was captured overnight following
a shootout that claimed the life of a senior police officer who
specialized in counterintelligence.
The final stage of Arutyunian's capture was broadcast live on Georgia's
main television channels.
Addressing reporters during an impromptu news briefing, Interior
Minister Ivane Merabishvili said Arutyunian was apprehended in the
Vashlijvari suburb of the Georgian capital Tbilisi.
Arutyunian resisted arrest, opening fire on police officers.
Merabishvili said the head of the Interior Ministry's
counterintelligence department, Zurab Kvlividze, was killed in the
shootout.
"As [police] went to the house of the suspect, Vladimir Vladimirovich
Arutyunian, he opened fire, causing the death of one of our men,
Zurab Kvlividze," Merabishvile said. "Arutyunian was wounded in the
shootout that followed and, a few minutes later, detained by a special
police unit."
Arutyunian sustained wounds in the leg and chest and was rushed to
Tbilisi's Republican Hospital for treatment, where his condition is
reportedly not life-threatening.
Merabishvili insisted Arutyunian was still considered a suspect and
that police would need a few more hours, perhaps days, to determine
whether he is the man who allegedly threw the grenade.
Attack On Two Presidents
The incident was not reported until U.S. President George W. Bush
left Georgia after addressing tens of thousands of people on Tbilisi's
Freedom Square on 10 May.
Georgian authorities reported then to the U.S. Secret Service that
someone in the crowd had thrown a hand grenade folded in a red
handkerchief toward the stage where Bush and Georgian President
Mikheil Saakashvili were standing.
Officials said the Russian-made grenade landed within 30 meters of
both leaders, but failed to go off due to an apparent malfunction. A
Georgian security officer reportedly picked up the device and removed
it from the area.
Reward Offered
Georgian police have since been engaged in a nationwide manhunt that
also involved U.S. investigators.
Georgia's Interior Minister initially offered a reward worth 20,000
laris ($11,000) to anyone with information leading to the arrest of
a suspect. That reward was raised to 150,000 laris three days ago.
Georgian television channels today showed photographs of a dark-haired
man that were taken while he was attending Bush's address. Police
said the man shown in the pictures is Arutyunian, an unemployed ethnic
Armenian who lives alone with his mother.
Arutyunian's mother, Anzhela, who was briefly detained for questioning,
told reporters her son had disappeared for the past three days before
returning home overnight.
"He hasn't been home for the past three days," she said. "Before that,
he was always here."
U.S. Involvement In Hunt
The U.S. Secret Service today said it was monitoring the investigation
conducted by the Georgian authorities. It also denied being involved
in Arutyunian's arrest.
Georgia's Imedi television, however, said today that FBI agents were
searching Arutyunian's apartment for further evidence.
Unconfirmed Georgian news reports quote Interior Ministry officials as
saying explosives and detonators, as well as chemical substances that
could possibly serve to make a bomb, were found at Arutyunian's home.
The Georgian presidential administration said today that, following
the news of Arutyunian's arrest, Saakashvili has decided to cut short
his vacation in the Netherlands and return to Tbilisi.
July 21 2005
Shootout Ends Georgian Manhunt For Grenade Suspect
Presidents Bush (left) and Saakashvili during the May visit
(Interpress)
21 July 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Georgian police have announced the arrest
of a 27-year-old ethnic Armenian suspected of throwing a live hand
grenade in the direction of the Georgian and U.S. presidents during
a high-profile public appearance in Tbilisi in May.
The suspect, Vladimir Arutyunian, was captured overnight following
a shootout that claimed the life of a senior police officer who
specialized in counterintelligence.
The final stage of Arutyunian's capture was broadcast live on Georgia's
main television channels.
Addressing reporters during an impromptu news briefing, Interior
Minister Ivane Merabishvili said Arutyunian was apprehended in the
Vashlijvari suburb of the Georgian capital Tbilisi.
Arutyunian resisted arrest, opening fire on police officers.
Merabishvili said the head of the Interior Ministry's
counterintelligence department, Zurab Kvlividze, was killed in the
shootout.
"As [police] went to the house of the suspect, Vladimir Vladimirovich
Arutyunian, he opened fire, causing the death of one of our men,
Zurab Kvlividze," Merabishvile said. "Arutyunian was wounded in the
shootout that followed and, a few minutes later, detained by a special
police unit."
Arutyunian sustained wounds in the leg and chest and was rushed to
Tbilisi's Republican Hospital for treatment, where his condition is
reportedly not life-threatening.
Merabishvili insisted Arutyunian was still considered a suspect and
that police would need a few more hours, perhaps days, to determine
whether he is the man who allegedly threw the grenade.
Attack On Two Presidents
The incident was not reported until U.S. President George W. Bush
left Georgia after addressing tens of thousands of people on Tbilisi's
Freedom Square on 10 May.
Georgian authorities reported then to the U.S. Secret Service that
someone in the crowd had thrown a hand grenade folded in a red
handkerchief toward the stage where Bush and Georgian President
Mikheil Saakashvili were standing.
Officials said the Russian-made grenade landed within 30 meters of
both leaders, but failed to go off due to an apparent malfunction. A
Georgian security officer reportedly picked up the device and removed
it from the area.
Reward Offered
Georgian police have since been engaged in a nationwide manhunt that
also involved U.S. investigators.
Georgia's Interior Minister initially offered a reward worth 20,000
laris ($11,000) to anyone with information leading to the arrest of
a suspect. That reward was raised to 150,000 laris three days ago.
Georgian television channels today showed photographs of a dark-haired
man that were taken while he was attending Bush's address. Police
said the man shown in the pictures is Arutyunian, an unemployed ethnic
Armenian who lives alone with his mother.
Arutyunian's mother, Anzhela, who was briefly detained for questioning,
told reporters her son had disappeared for the past three days before
returning home overnight.
"He hasn't been home for the past three days," she said. "Before that,
he was always here."
U.S. Involvement In Hunt
The U.S. Secret Service today said it was monitoring the investigation
conducted by the Georgian authorities. It also denied being involved
in Arutyunian's arrest.
Georgia's Imedi television, however, said today that FBI agents were
searching Arutyunian's apartment for further evidence.
Unconfirmed Georgian news reports quote Interior Ministry officials as
saying explosives and detonators, as well as chemical substances that
could possibly serve to make a bomb, were found at Arutyunian's home.
The Georgian presidential administration said today that, following
the news of Arutyunian's arrest, Saakashvili has decided to cut short
his vacation in the Netherlands and return to Tbilisi.