Скачать или смотреть Speculation about cause of Yushchenko's illness

(8 Dec 2004)
Vienna, Austria - 8 December 2004
1. Various of exteriors of Rudolfinerhaus
2. Dr. Michael Zimpfer walking into press conference
3. SOUNDBITE (German) Dr. Michael Zimpfer, Rudolfinerhaus Director:
"We have looked for some very specific laboratory tests, especially over the last few days and we've been able to test new samples. As opposed to what the London Times says today and what probably generates your interest in this question, I must say that the outcome of the test is exactly the same and insists that there is zero proof of poison. Therefore the theory of him (Yushchenko) being poisoned cannot be proved and confirmed nor can it be completely denied."
4. Cutaway press
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Michael Zimpfer, Rudolfinerhaus Director:
"At the present stage we are still investigating the hypothesis of poisoning. However, we have no found any indication that a chemical or biological substance has been employed. Also we are following new tracks and are including other labs to do more specific testing."
6. Cutaway press
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Michael Zimpfer, Rudolfinerhaus Director:
"He has residual pain together with the facial symptoms."
FILE Kiev, Ukraine - 31 March 2002
8. Viktor Yushchenko greeting people
9. Yushchenko speaking
FILE Kiev, Ukraine - 30 March 2002
10. Yushchenko coming out on stage
11. Close up Yushchenko addressing supporters
FILE Kiev, Ukraine - 14 February, 2002
12. Wide shot Yushchenko holding government session as prime minister
13. Close up Yushchenko pan to key opposition leader Yuliya Timoshenko
Moscow, Russia - 8 December 2004
14. Close up photograph of Timoshenko pan to Yushchenko
15. Pan photographs of Yushchenko and Timoshenko
16. Close up hand pan to face of Yushchenko
Kiev, 3 December 2004
10. Rally shot overhead; tilt down to rally in Independence Square
11. Close up child pan up to Yushchenko
12. Wide shot crowd
STORYLINE
Experts trying to figure out why Ukrainian opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko fell seriously ill during the country's presidential campaign are testing a number of poisoning theories but have no conclusive evidence he was poisoned, doctors said Wednesday.
Yushchenko, whose formerly smooth skin has turned ashen and pockmarked since he fell ill in September, has alleged that Ukrainian authorities poisoned him - an allegation they deny.
Doctors are still running tests to try to determine what caused the illness, said Dr. Michael Zimpfer, director of Rudolfinerhaus, the private Vienna clinic where Yushchenko was treated.
Zimpfer said that doctors are still exploring the hypothesis of poisoning but that they have not yet found chemical or biological substances had been employed.
Yushchenko suffered from a series of symptoms, including back pain, acute pancreatitis and nerve paralysis on the left side of his face.
Zimpfer told reporters: "He was very ill but there was no immediate danger to his life."
Doctors have only "a descriptive diagnosis" but no proof of what caused the illness, Zimpfer said, adding it could have had internal causes or have been sparked by a poison.
Making the mystery even more difficult to solve was Yushchenko's refusal to let doctors take biopsies of his facial tissue, and the four-day delay between the outbreak of the disease and his arrival at the hospital, Zimpfer said.
Doctors later received some tissue samples, he added.
The London newspaper The Times on Wednesday quoted Dr. Nikolai Korpan, the Rudolfinerhaus physician who oversaw Yushchenko's treatment, as saying that Yushchenko had been poisoned and the intention was to kill the candidate.

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