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Toxins Found in Georgia Suspect's Cellar
.c The Associated Press
TBILISI, Georgia (AP) - Georgian police working with the FBI
discovered dangerous substances in the house of the suspect who
admitted throwing a live grenade toward President Bush at a rally in
Tbilisi in May, officials said Wednesday.
Sergo Dzagnidze, chief of the criminal police department at the
Interior Ministry, told The Associated Press that 5 gallons of
sulfuric acid, several boxes of mercury thermometers, a centrifuge, a
microscope and other devices and dangerous chemicals were found in the
cellar.
The suspect, Vladimir Arutyunian, was detained last week after a
police shootout.
He was charged Tuesday with terrorism over the grenade attack, in
addition to earlier charges of killing a police officer in the
shootout and illegal possession of weapons.
``The dangerous substances found in the cellar of Arutyunian show that
he posed a risk and had a big potential for carrying out terrorist
acts,'' General-Prosecutor Zurab Adeishvili said.
Both Bush and Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili were behind a
bulletproof barrier addressing a rally of thousands in Tbilisi in May
when the grenade landed about 100 feet away. It did not explode;
investigators said it apparently malfunctioned. No one was harmed.
Arutyunian was shown on local television last week admitting throwing
the grenade. The suspect said he hoped to kill Bush because he
believed the U.S. leader was ``interfering in Georgia's internal
affairs,'' his lawyer said Tuesday.
07/27/05 23:58 EDT
.c The Associated Press
TBILISI, Georgia (AP) - Georgian police working with the FBI
discovered dangerous substances in the house of the suspect who
admitted throwing a live grenade toward President Bush at a rally in
Tbilisi in May, officials said Wednesday.
Sergo Dzagnidze, chief of the criminal police department at the
Interior Ministry, told The Associated Press that 5 gallons of
sulfuric acid, several boxes of mercury thermometers, a centrifuge, a
microscope and other devices and dangerous chemicals were found in the
cellar.
The suspect, Vladimir Arutyunian, was detained last week after a
police shootout.
He was charged Tuesday with terrorism over the grenade attack, in
addition to earlier charges of killing a police officer in the
shootout and illegal possession of weapons.
``The dangerous substances found in the cellar of Arutyunian show that
he posed a risk and had a big potential for carrying out terrorist
acts,'' General-Prosecutor Zurab Adeishvili said.
Both Bush and Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili were behind a
bulletproof barrier addressing a rally of thousands in Tbilisi in May
when the grenade landed about 100 feet away. It did not explode;
investigators said it apparently malfunctioned. No one was harmed.
Arutyunian was shown on local television last week admitting throwing
the grenade. The suspect said he hoped to kill Bush because he
believed the U.S. leader was ``interfering in Georgia's internal
affairs,'' his lawyer said Tuesday.
07/27/05 23:58 EDT