Otto Warmbier Has Died, Family Blames "North Korea's Torturous Mistreatment"
Just days after North Korea released Otto Warmbier after holding him hostage for 17 months, his family has just reported the sad news of his passing.
Warmbier was sentenced to 15 years in prison with hard labor in North Korea, convicted of subversion after he tearfully confessed he had tried to steal a propaganda banner.
The University of Virginia student was held for more than 17 months and medically evacuated from North Korea last week. Doctors said he returned with severe brain damage, but it wasn't clear what caused it.
Family Statement:
It is our sad duty to report that our son, Otto Warmbier, has completed his journey home. Surrounded by his loving family, Otto died today at 2:20pm.
It would be easy at a moment like this to focus on all that we lost - future time that won't be spent with a warm, engaging, brilliant young man whose curiosity and enthusiasm for life knew no bounds. But we choose to focus on the time we were given to be with this remarkable person. You can tell from the outpouring of emotion from the communities that he touched - Wyoming, Ohio and the University of Virginia to name just two - that the love for Otto went well beyond his immediate family. Otto went well beyond his immediate family.
We would like to thank the wonderful professionals at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center who did everything they could for Otto.
Unfortunately, the awful torturous mistreatment our son received at the hands of the North Koreans ensured that no other outcome was possible beyond the sad one we experienced today.
When Otto returned to Cincinnati late on June 13th he was unable to speak, unable to see and unable to react to verbal commands. He looked very uncomfortable - almost anguished. Although we would never hear his voice again, within a day the countenance of his face changed - he was at peace. He was home and we believe he could sense that.
We thank everyone around the world who has kept him and our family in their thoughts and prayers. We are at peace and at home too.
Fred & Cindy Warmbier and Family
Quoted by Bloomberg's Jennifer Jacobs, on the death of Warmbier, Trump said "at least he got home to his parents" and added: "It's a brutal regime and we'll be able to handle it." It's unclear just how.
Source : ZeroHedge
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Geez, I guess it's not safe to travel to North Korea anymore.
Next thing you know, they'll be telling us not to go to Raqqa.
This is pretty hardcore, his poor folks :( Saw the interview with his dad on Tucker Carlson few days ago, they were so happy to just have him back.
So sad to hear that. Makes you realise how brave/stupid the people must be that take and smuggle illegal photos out with threat of detention if caught. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/12191241/Inside-North-Korea-Forbidden-photos-taken-inside-Kim-Jong-uns-secretive-state.html
My vote leans more towards "Stupid" in this case.
Read up on the circumstances of his detention.
Why anyone wants to go to North Korea is beyond me
There's been a Holocaust going on in North Korea, and I'm very sad for Otto Warmbier's family, but it's even more sad that it takes the death of an American young man for North Korea's atrocities to get any attention. Is it partly racism since the Korean people are Asian? North Korea has been brutally exterminating its own people for decades now while the world ignores it, perhaps even making jokes about it (if I'm not mistaken, wasn't Kim Jong-Il a subject for comedy on a popular TV show?)
This is considered a Holocaust, yet "never again" is being allowed to happen again.
Never Again? - The Economist
'Never again' is now in North Korea - The Boston Globe
North Korea isn't Nazi Germany — in some ways, it's worse - The Week
The UN finally said a few years ago that the North Korea leaders should be brought to the International Criminal Court:
"The gravity, scale and nature of these violations reveal a state that does not have any parallel in the contemporary world."
The government had committed "unspeakable atrocities" which amounted to "crimes against humanity."
"Mr Kirby (the UN leader in charge of investigating North Korea's atrocities) said that the descriptions he heard reminded him of Holocaust abuses."
"He said: "I never thought that in my professional life, my life as a judge or as an officer of the United Nations, I would sit there and hear descriptions that were so similar to the descriptions of what went on in those places.
"I thought we had said as a world community, 'never again'.
"I thought that was what the charter of the United Nations was about. I thought that was why in the charter it speaks of international peace and security and the protection of universal human rights together."
North Korean Defectors' Harrowing Stories
Eyes of the Tailless Animals - prison memoirs of a North Korean defector
Would it be wrong of me to nominate Otto for a Darwin Award?
Seriously, how many REALLY STUPID consecutive decisions did he have to make?
and
What do you want to bet he topped it all off with:
Demand to be released immediately, because he's an AMERICAN and he knows his rights.
Maybe that's reason enough to invade NK.
If the US invaded every country that arrested some stupid American we'd have ongoing wars all over the planet.
Oh, I guess we do.
Russia, Iran and NK are on the agenda. USA is itching for more fights. So any silly excuse is on the american table. Capitalizing on events like and throwing media attention have the sole purpose of fueling the popular sentiment, and the sheep buy it.
DING, DING, DING, we have a winner!
Anything to keep the people at home from figuring out how they've screwed us all over for the last 50 or so years.
your a moron it would effect every country in the surrounding area the leader is one who would unleash everything he has and go down with the ship
First of all, be polite. Second, I was being sarcastic of course, we all know how the USA loves to create excuses to invade other countries. That being said, don't you get it by now? NK is a chihuahua barking at a tree. Daily propaganda: GLORIOUS NK, MAGNIFICENT LEADER. They have zero capacity to wage a war against anyone. Going to war requires a massive amount of logistics and resources. NK has none. They don't even have enough electricity to light up their nights, USA has night goggles, if you see what I mean. And why the hell does the USA pretend to worry about NK's primitive ballistic missiles? USA ain't worried one bit, they can shoot down any ICBM before it leaves base. Stop freaking out, NK is no threat to anyone.
Less of the moron stuff bud, that's for Youtube, we not like it around theses parts.
its called FACTS not FAKE news
Sad news
Why not blame Obama for just forgetting about him because he wasn't colored or transgendered?
Awful news, its a brutal regime. I don't think they'll be around much longer though. 20 years at most.
"I don't think they'll be around much longer though."
Unless Kim Jong Un has a kid he wants to hand the reigns over to.
Don't worry, I'm sure the US guvernmint is already grooming evil dictators to put into power in 3rd world shitholes when North Korea doesn't get enough headlines anymore.
I'd say Mr T has plans for him. We'll be vacationing there within a few short years.