Alleged Hand Grenade Found on Freedom Square After Bush Departed

Civil Georgia, Tbilisi / 11 May.'05 / 11:56

Secretary of the Georgian National Security Council of Georgia Gela Bezhuashvili said at a news conference on May 11 that an object, which, as Bezhuashvili put it, “looks like a Soviet-made RPG-5 hand grenade” was found on Freedom Square about an hour after U.S. President George W. Bush departed from there.

He said that “the object was inactive … Now, we are jointly investigating the case with the U.S. side.”

“It was found 50 meters away from the stage [where the U.S. and Georgian Presidents made public speeches],” Bezhuashvili said.

Then he also said that “according to the preliminary information it was a Soviet-made RPG-5 hand grenade.”

Bezhuashvili also said that that the Presidents of Georgia and the United States, who made public speeches on Freedom Square, “were beyond any danger, since their security was ensured.”

He said that the goal was to create fear among the people.

The Secret Service has not yet confirmed whether the object was a real grenade or, if so, whether the pin had been pulled, Spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service Jim Mackin told CNN on May 10.

He also said that according to an account by Georgian security officials, the grenade hit an individual and fell to the ground.