WORLD : Threats to Honecker Reported

HAMBURG, West Germany — Former East German leader Erich Honecker may be moved to a monastery to protect him from a possible lynching by enraged citizens, a newspaper said today.

In a front-page story, the mass-circulation Bild newspaper said “Lynch Danger--Church Wants to Grant Honecker Asylum.”

Since Honecker was ousted Oct. 18, the former Communist Party leader and other party officials have been investigated on charges of corruption and living in luxury at the cost of the state.

In December, seven former Politburo members were arrested, and Honecker was placed under house arrest in the government housing area of Wandlitz outside East Berlin.

The Wandlitz homes, including the one in which Honecker still lives, are being converted to a medical rehabilitation center for children. Honecker is expected to be forced out of the compound in February.