American, jailed in Peru, transferred for tests

The Miami Herald October 9, 1998 American, jailed in Peru, transferred for tests

             LIMA, Peru -- (AP) -- Lori Berenson, an American woman serving a life
             sentence for treason in a prison high in the Peruvian Andes, has been transferred to
             another prison for medical tests.

             Berenson, 28, of New York, was moved from Yanamayo prison 12,700 feet
             above sea level to Socabaya prison in the department of Arequipa, a National
             Penitentiaries Institute news release said Wednesday.

Socabaya is 5,000 feet lower than Yanamayo and its conditions are less harsh.

             ``She's been moved to undergo specialized medical tests, but there is nothing
             seriously wrong with her health,'' penitentiary institute spokesman Henry Williams
             said.

The length of her stay ``depends on the results of the tests,'' he said.

             Berenson's family says she has suffered constant health problems during more than
             two years in Yanamayo. Her cell has no glass over its window and she must bathe
             in cold water.

             She has suffered from laryngitis almost constantly, her hands are swollen ``like
             boxing gloves,'' she has lost weight and several months ago her liver was swollen,
             her mother, Rhoda Berenson, said in a telephone interview.