American Student Release From North Korea
Otto Warmbier | Photo Credit Korea Portal
American student Otto Warmbier has been sent back to Ohio after being detained by North Korean diplomats who claim he has been in a coma for one year. Once he gets back to the states, he will receive a full medical evaluation.
Rex Tillerson commented, “The Department of State has secured the release of Otto Warmbier from North Korea. He is on his way, en route, home, to be reunited with his family. We continue our discussions with the North Korean regime regarding the release of the three other Americans that have been detained.”
Warmbier was originally detained because officials claimed he stole a poster. They sentenced him to 15 years in prison, hard labor.
Otto Warmbier Heads Back To Ohio, Free
Fox News reports:
“An American held prisoner is on his way home tonight, but under far less than ideal circumstances. It comes as the communist regime hosts another visit by this country’s unlikely, unofficial diplomat.”
“Otto Warmbier is on his way back to Ohio and he will receive a full medical evaluation once he arrives. North Korean diplomats say he has been in a coma for a year…”
“Former basketball star Dennis Rodman has just returned to North Korea. The State Department said Rodman’s visit had nothing to do with Warmbier’s release.”
Warmbier’s Parents Say Son “Brutalized,” “Terrorized”
Otto Warmbier | Photo Credit Reuters
The Atlantic reports:
“We want the world to know how we and our son have been brutalized and terrorized by the pariah regime” in North Korea, they said. “We are so grateful that he will finally be with people who love him.”
“North Korean officials said he was detained for “anti-republic activities”—stealing a propaganda sign from his hotel. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison in March of that year. His family said Tuesday that he had been in a coma since shortly after that time. Warmbier was one of four U.S. citizens detained in North Korea.”
“The others are Kim Dong-chul, 62, who was sentenced in April 2016 to 10 years of hard labor for spying; Kim Sang-duk, who was detained in April of this year; Kim Hak-song, who was detained last month for “hostile acts.”
