Hostage’s illness still a mystery

Press, 14 July 1980, Page 6

Hostage’s illness still a mystery

NZPA-Reuter Wiesbaden, West Germany The freed' American Embassy hostage, Richard Queen, has entered a military hospital in Wiesbaden, West Germany, for neurological tests, a United States consulate spokesman has said. He said that doctors in the United States Air Force hospital -in Wiesbaden would continue tests begun in Zurich to discover the cause of the disorder troubling the 28-year-old vice-con-su' from the occupied United States Embassy in Teheran. But he said that no surgery would-be carried out on Mr Queen during his stay at the hospital, which he estimated would last several days. The spokesman said the State Department in Washington had decided that no official statement would be! given on Mr Queen’s condi-i tion. j Mr Queen was flown from Zurich to Frankfurt yesterday in a United States Air Force medical evacuation plane.

In Washington, the State ■ Department said that Mr ; Queen had a neurological ■problem, but was not psyichologically disturbed, as his I captors had suggested. Swiss ■ television quoted hospital isources as saying Mr Queen ’had a blood clot on the : brain which had been diagi nosed as causing the neuI rological problem producing i a lack of co-ordination in ’his movements and a begin(ning of paralysis in the left | arm. While in Zurich Mr Queen ■was telephoned by President Carter from his holiday retreat in Georgia, and a White House spokesman said the President reported that the released hostage seemed in excellent spirits. Mr Queen also spoke by telephone to America's! A.B.C. television from his I hospital bed, and told them! he did not know if his fel-l low hostages had been dis-i persed to various locations j after the abortive rescue at-; tempt in April. He said his captors had frequently blindfolded him after the failed commando raid to keep him from knowing what was going on..

The interviewer, Mike .Kelly, had called the hospiI tai to speak to Mr Queen’s I doctor, but the call was answered by the hostage himj self, who said he had been told he did not have a brain ' tumour. “1 really can’t say what ] might be wrong with me,” 'he said. j A spokesman for the fami- : lies of the other hostages [said Mr Queen’s release had I lifted their spirits. | In Teheran. however, I Iran’s prosecutor-general, ] Ayatollah Seyed Karin Moussavi. said: “The ! transfer and freedom of American hostage Richard Queen, was! Imam’s (Ayatollah Ruhollah I Khomeiny) own decision and] the Government or Revolu-i tionary Council was not in-' volved.” I He added: “The release was for humanitarian reasons. In no way it should mean any change in our policy towards America and the hostages, as Imam has said the Parliament is the final authority to take any decision concerning the hos-i tages.” j