OTTO Warmbier was a promising young college student whose life got turned upside down after he was imprisoned in North Korea.
He spent 17 months in detention and was later released, but he then died shortly after returning to the United States.
Who was Otto Warmbier?
Otto Warmbier was a student at the University of Virginia pursuing a double major degree in commerce and economics.
The son of Cindy and Fred Warmbier, he was born on December 12, 1994, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is remembered for his adventurous spirit and ability to prioritize his family and work over social events.
“If Otto had anything schoolwork-related, job-related, family-related that he needed to do, there was absolutely nothing you could say to him to convince him to do stuff with you,” his friend, Ned Ende, told The Washington Post.
Warmbier graduated from Wyoming High School in 2013 as a salutatorian and received a scholarship to the University of Virginia, where he was a member of the Theta Chi fraternity, according to CNN.
Why was he detained in North Korea?
Warmbier was arrested by North Korean authorities in January 2016 while at Pyongyang’s airport.
At the time, it was alleged that he had stolen a propaganda poster from a restricted floor in his hotel.
A few weeks after he was detained, a video of him confessing to the crime and begging for forgiveness and to be released was released by North Korea, but it is not known if the confession was voluntary, according to CNN.
He was held in detention for two months and then sentenced to 15 years in prison with hard labor.
Despite the 15-year sentence, Warmbier was released 17 months later after becoming seriously ill.
He returned to the US in June 2017 but died just six days later.
While in the hospital, his father said he was “moving around, and jerking violently, making these howling and inhuman sounds,” according to BBC.
Warmbier reportedly suffered a neurological injury shortly after sentencing but details on the circumstances surrounding the injury are still unclear.
His father revealed that he had become blind and deaf and that his arms and legs were “totally deformed.”
It “looked like someone had taken a pair of pliers and rearranged his bottom teeth,” his father continued.
“Otto was systematically tortured and intentionally injured by Kim and his regime. This was no accident.”
North Korea has continuously denied any wrongdoing in the case but a US federal court found the country liable for Warmbier’s torture and death, according to BBC.
Pyongyang was then ordered by the court to pay $501million in damages to Warmbier’s family, according to Reuters.
Why did Otto travel to North Korea?
Warmbier traveled to North Korea as part of a tourism trip with the Young Pioneer Tours travel group.
His father said that he was “curious about their culture” and “wanted to meet the people of North Korea,” according to BBC.
While on the trip, Warmbier and the other Young Pioneers visited the USS Pueblo, an American Navy spy ship that had been seized by North Korea in 1968, and other historical sites.
They also celebrated New Year’s Eve in Pyongyang’s main square, according to GQ.