Otto Warmbier
Otto Frederick Warmbier (December 12, 1994 – June 19, 2017) was an American college student. He was imprisoned in North Korea from March 2016 to June 2017 after being convicted of "hostile acts" against the country.
Otto Warmbier | |
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Born | Otto Frederick Warmbier December 12, 1994 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |
Died | June 19, 2017 22) Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. | (aged
Nationality | American |
Education | Wyoming High School (2013) |
Alma mater | University of Virginia |
Known for | Arrest and detainment in North Korea, death after detainment in North Korea |
Parents |
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Imprisonment
Warmbier, then 21 years old, confessed to stealing a political propaganda poster from a hotel and was sentenced to 15 years' hard labor. The United States made diplomatic efforts to seek Warmbier's release. A U.S. State Department spokesman said Warmbier's harsh sentence was a response to U.S. sanctions against North Korea for its nuclear activities. According to his father, Warmbier's confession was forced and he was abducted by the North Korean government for political purposes.
Release
Warmbier fell into a coma in North Korea and was released in June 2017, after nearly 18 months in North Korea. According to North Korean authorities, Warmbier's coma was a result of botulism and a sleeping pill, but U.S. physicians cast doubt on that claim. Warmbier arrived in Cincinnati on June 13 and was taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center for immediate evaluation and treatment. He was diagnosed with "severe neurological injury."
His father believes that he was "terrorized and brutalized".[2]
Death
Warmbier died on June 19, 2017, in Cincinnati, six days after his return to the United States from complications of cardiopulmonary arrest caused by botulism and sepsis.[1] He was also suffering from pneumonia and kidney failure.[1]
References
- Svrluga, Susan (June 19, 2017). "Otto Warmbier dies days after release from North Korean detainment". Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 28, 2019. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
- "Ex-N Korea detainee Otto Warmbier has severe brain damage, doctors say". news.com.au. AP, News Corp Australia Netwok. June 16, 2017.