![Would-be Bush assassin gets life sentence in Georgian Republic](https://www.jurist.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/jurist-white-text.png)
[JURIST] A man from the Georgian Republic who lobbed a grenade toward US President George W. Bush while he was on a visit there in May last year was sentenced to life imprisonment on Wednesday by a Georgian court. Vladimir Arutunyan [Wikipedia profile], who originally confessed but later recanted, landed the grenade within 50 meters of Bush while the president stood behind a bulletproof barrier addressing a crowd [White House transcript], but the device failed to explode due to a malfunctioning detonator. According to Georgian prosecutors, DNA tests of material on the cloth that was wrapped around the grenade matched that of Arutyunian's. Arutyunian's lawyer, Elizabeta Dzhaparidze, said that she would appeal because "I consider that everything was far from proved." In September, Arutunyan was indicted by a US federal grand jury [DOJ press release; JURIST report] for attempting to kill Bush and possessing a firearm during a violent crime. US Justice Department officials have not yet decided whether they will seek Arutunyan's extradition. AP has more.