European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 23, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                                During those nigh Hou Jilpas Jocko in 1 and had no Access in the walled outer area thai area was crossed by Ait open sewer that carried  Fin other areas to the nearby out Angi River continuous noise from More unit 750 other unseen prevented Alt Steep incest for a Tew hours before each the Grimmitt pro went Wai Bow to occupy my c Job a Khael  wife embrace after he was freed by Central african i emperor t Michael Assad aled press foreign Wei imprisoned for 30 Days id the Central african i hit account of his arrest july it and the 30 Days be spent in prison until be was the Way to dinner with Grant do puny chief of Mission at the american embassy in capita of the Central african 1 stopped off at my Smith stayed in his car outside As f entered the four plainclothes All it was 9 july thus began weeks of imprisonment to the Central african Empire that included six Days of agony handcuffed and often chained in a windowless with wounds Over my body untreated and badly in clothed Only in underpants and with a rough Concrete slab for a Jonathan Randal of the nothing to i had spent four Days in Bangui accumulating voluminous notes from interviews with Church Waters and local cae i was unaware until my release four weeks later that Randal was also arrested that night but let go a week the policemen who arrested me Wen courteous but Unco Munica from a fear stray 1 de stood i was suspected of bring a South african there was frequent mention message 1 bad sent to the associated press Bureau in sooth the message contained same Gables appeared on the copy As unintelligible gibberish the Gables were regarded by the we police As secret coded messages to a South african agent in i was repeatedly asked to identify this nonexistent the police took me upstairs to my hotel threw my belongings in my suitcase and then tried to dismantle the hotel radio built into the bedside table they said it was a secret All my notes were seized in i was driven to Miles along a paved Highway to Birthplace and residence of emperor Bokassa chief of state of the Central african Bokassa was the subject of my assign ment to the country a Story about the former French colonial army sergeant who had proclaimed himself emperor and was spending millions of dollars on his Cor scheduled As we drove through the i asked the police whether we were in route to which f knew was linked to Bangui by the Only Good paved Highway out of the this innocent question was later used to support the Contention that i was guilty of since Only a spy with evil intent would know about the Road to Jerengo without Ever having been we arrived at Jerengo shortly after 10 the Handcuffs were As was my jacket and everything in my pock for half an hour i stood Walling out doors in the Palace compound flanked by a policeman on each a Small group slowly approached me in Ibe i recognized carrying Ibe embossed stick he As a Symbol of i had tried in vain to interview and was somewhat elated because 1 Felt a few words with him would Clear up Alt Misun the group stopped in front of Bokassa looked at me t bowed and your without without a to Kassa raised his stick and brought it Down on the left Side of my opening a Gash and causing me to fall unconscious to the seconds Javier i came lying on the ground and being kicked by Bokassa and the members of his f saw my spectacles tying on the inches from my i heard a voice Are his crush a Boot came Down on them and i saw the glasses weeks s policeman who witnessed the scene told me it was the Boot of the emperor seconds f lapsed into unconscious i remained unconscious until the Middle of the following july when 1 woke up handcuffed in a Small dark blood pouring from my head and from i dozen smaller wounds elsewhere on my Only 10 Days later did i realize that i had been driven Hadt to Bangui during the night and was in the Central prison the heavy Rte Dow to my cell was opened once a when guard brought a bowl of water and we a tasteless not that Tingart of the african Staple Ibene w tie door was it least us Whf Ien blood in a Circle with Lodr  pointed at in French t pleaded for medical Atten Tion or for Access to an official of the i am a British citizen but my own government has no diplomatic genre striation in on july the prison com a tightened the Handcuffs Over an open wound on my badly swollen left at the same he or dered Iny legs apart from Gongos jeers and jibes Over my alleged espionage there was no further attempt Tonte Rogale in the dark loneliness of what i later Learned was the prisons punishment 1 realized 1 would not be freed my wounds were too and 1 was in effect guilty of having been punished by an infallible since Gram Smith had been witness to my i knew the outside world must be aware of it and some moves were being made to get me no hint of these efforts trickled through to me in my at my most despairing i concluded that my Ody now was to be amines used on Coronation unless i died sooner of my festering at 11 m on the night of july a i could see the time on the of Nard wrist watch by Tuu Alloa changed i Wai taken to Luv mall Forecourt sur rounded by ugh and Lor Ute nest time we Given two in take frequent tropical i had suffered bitterly Roro us on july a Man i later Learned was Bokassa own military medical orderly appeared to give me the first medical treatment since my he put six stitches in my forehead cleaned up my other wounds and gave me penicillin and anti tetanus he returned to give me treatment and further in until but like All my other manned silent about my i pleaded to be allowed to Send a message to my and to my Mother in my requests were ignored Pur three endless i remained in the larger cell unaware of my captors1 intentions and denied All human Contact other than the routine vistas of the guards and the medical order but one encouraged met beginning july to i bad Wentefred a Calendar of the Walls of the celts state Cwm Eyer Day the nearby comuna ended safari hotel Bokath later talk me be had Peru ully ordered me to be fed in Lief that meat which a the envy even of Ibe prison guards the medical attention and the two were my Only Lum my sleeping space was a rough wooden the cell was infested with giant buds and mosquitoes that attacked me in i oud every cell Light remained of from dusk to from wooden Plank to the As eight Yard and figured that walking 100 times to and fro along that distance made about one twice each once in the morning and once in the i forced myself to walk three Miles in this to the astonishment of the guards who said they had never seen a prisoner display such deter mined with Arfik dust and t coloured of the cell Wall and divided various numbers by each other to m dec Imal then result lulled the Bate numbers to Check my such Cal scratched into the Brick coloured space with a Spray plastic some tunes took an entire Day and wed me from Panicky v the guards saw the Long rows of figures and took them tit be some strange and evil on they searched the the piece of plastic and confiscated Puuing an end to my i spent hours Hunting flies with Primi Tive Broom made of a bundle of twigs that had been placed in the i counted one Point for each Fly one minus Point for a and four Points for two files killed with a single Twenty Points was a successful on the Moraine of was taken oat the cell forts first driven to the foreign Ami taken into Ibe office of foreign minis Ler Michel he greeted me Wilh tur arting Shook my handcuffed band and introduced me to a special envoy of president Omar Bongo of chairman of the organi Atton of african who apparently had been sent to Bangui to inquire about my a photographer took Tures of me sitting bearded and handcuffed in a bloodstained shirt in the foreign ministers without further explanation or i was taken Back on the evening of the following Ngongo ordered me to be taken Back to the punishment cell for smearing Brick dust Over the cell so at dusk 1 wailed fearfully for this wondering whether i would again be placed in hand the door opened and 1 was ordered to get the police drove me Back to where a group of ministers of to Kassas Royal Cabinet read me an Exchange of Telegram Between the emperor and my they said Bokassa was so moved by her Appeal that he had decided to release Okasu Ibea appeared and spoke h2f7 Tot me jeep Fth at turn Stening the of us tute cod Milt Long by i speck h Ibe Bokassa said i would spend the next two Etaw under police Protection in the safari hotel and would then leave for my Home on the tint available plane sunday the police Protection turned out to be three policemen sleeping in my hotel out i was in no mood to com August 1977 the stars and stripes Page 13