North Korea Sends Back American Student in a Coma

The 22-year old student was detained on Jan. 2, 2016, at Pyongyang International Airport and charged with stealing a sign from the hotel where he was staying. He was visiting the country as a tourist with Young Pioneer Tour. Warmbier took the sign as a souvenir of his visit.

The sign featured a picture of the late North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il and was on a staff-only floor of the Yanggakdo International Hotel in the capital city of Pyongyang.

Following a one-hour trial in March 2016, he was convicted and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor.

Tillerson made the announcement of the release and indicated work was ongoing to free the other Americans.

At the direction of the president, the Department of State has secured the release of Otto Warmbier from North Korea. Mr. Warmbier is en route to the United States, where he will be reunited with his family. The Department of State continues to have discussions with the DPRK regarding three other U.S. citizens reported detained. Out of respect for the privacy of Mr. Warmbier and his family, we have no further comment on Mr. Warmbier.”

The Warmbier family in Cincinnati confirmed their son was in a coma and had been medically evacuated.

Our son is coming home. At the moment, we’re just treating this like he’s been in an accident. We get to see our son Otto tonight.”

The parents said their son reportedly had contracted botulism soon after his trial. Upon being given a sleeping pill, he lapsed into a coma from which he has not awakened. The State Department could not confirm Warmbier’s condition.

Fox News reported that former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson was a able to confirm that Warmbler was in a coma. Through his Center for Global Engagement, Richardson has been working to secure the student’s release. He indicated that Warmbier has been in a coma for more than a year.

Otto has been in a coma for over a year now and urgently needs proper medical care in the United States. We received a call from Cindy and Fred Warmbier early today to update us on Otto’s condition. In no uncertain terms North Korea must explain the causes of his coma.”

The United States has no diplomatic relations with North Korea. Foreigners detained there are report being subjected to coached confessions, isolation and communications blackouts.

While begging for mercy at his trial, the distraught Warmbier stressed he’d just made a horrible mistake. In a subsequent video made after the trail, the student praised his captors for his treatment and said the case had been handled fairly. Most observers believe the tape was made under duress.

With Warmbier’s release, attention now turns to the three remaining Americans being held: accounting professor Kim Sang Duk, businessman Kim Dong Chul and Kim Hak-Song, who worked at Pyongyang University.

With the current tensions between the U.S. and North Korea, the concern is that the Americans will continue to be held for use as bargaining chips or human shields.

Source: Fox News