American student released by North Korea died

By Park Sae-jin Posted : June 20, 2017, 08:58 Updated : June 20, 2017, 08:58

Otto Warmbier, an American student detained and released by North Korea, died on June 19, 2017. [Coutesy of Pixabay]


Otto Warmbier, a 22-year-old American college student who was held captive and released by North Korea, passed away on Monday.

Warmbier returned home in a state of "unresponsive wakefulness" according to doctors who treated him. There was no sign of physical abuse.

He was a promising student at the University of Virginia and was a prom king in his high school. The popular yet studious student with a good heart wanted to experience the world. He chose to travel to North Korea. During the trip, he made new friends and everything seemed like it was going well until he was in the process of leaving at the North Korean airport, he was detained with the charge of trying to steal a propaganda banner. Warmbier was sentenced to 15 years in prison with hard labor.

North Korea released him last week and his family, friends, and supporters were ecstatic to have him back home. However, he arrived in an "unresponsive wakefulness" state with an oxygen tube attached.

North Korea claimed that Warmbier went into a coma soon after his sentencing in March 2016. 








Kwak, Min Jung = abiel@ajunews.com 
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