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Otto Warmbier Was ‘Brutalized and Terrorized’ in North Korea, His Father Says Otto Warmbier Was ‘Brutalized and Terrorized’ in North Korea, His Father Says
(35 minutes later)
WYOMING, Ohio — The father of Otto Warmbier, the 22-year-old student who was released from North Korea, said Thursday that his son was “brutalized and terrorized” during 18 months of captivity, hours after the North said it had freed him on “humanitarian grounds.”WYOMING, Ohio — The father of Otto Warmbier, the 22-year-old student who was released from North Korea, said Thursday that his son was “brutalized and terrorized” during 18 months of captivity, hours after the North said it had freed him on “humanitarian grounds.”
Speaking to a packed news conference at the local high school, the father, Fred Warmbier, also praised the administration of President Trump for working to free his son, and made clear his displeasure with the administration of former President Barack Obama, whose officials had advised the family to stay quiet so as not to antagonize the North Koreans. Speaking to a packed news conference at the local high school, the father, Fred Warmbier, also praised the administration of President Trump for working to free his son, and made clear his displeasure with the administration of former President Barack Obama, whose officials, he said, had advised the family to stay quiet so as not to antagonize the North Koreans.
“The result speak for themselves,” Mr. Warmbier said. “The result speak for themselves,” Mr. Warmbier said. He said Mr. Trump called him last night and recalled the president telling him, “We worked hard and I’m sorry this is the outcome.’’
The younger Mr. Warmbier, an honors student at the University of Virginia who grew up in this small city adjacent to Cincinnati, is being evaluated by doctors at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. A hospital spokeswoman said that he is in stable condition, with a “severe neurological injury.”The younger Mr. Warmbier, an honors student at the University of Virginia who grew up in this small city adjacent to Cincinnati, is being evaluated by doctors at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. A hospital spokeswoman said that he is in stable condition, with a “severe neurological injury.”
A senior American official said that Mr. Warmbier was singled out for particularly brutal beatings while in captivity, but little else is known of his ordeal. In its statement about Mr. Warmbier on Thursday, North Korea did not reveal any details of his medical condition or of the diplomatic negotiations that led to his release.A senior American official said that Mr. Warmbier was singled out for particularly brutal beatings while in captivity, but little else is known of his ordeal. In its statement about Mr. Warmbier on Thursday, North Korea did not reveal any details of his medical condition or of the diplomatic negotiations that led to his release.
In December 2015, Mr. Warmbier embarked on a five-day tour of the North with a Chinese company that advertised “budget travel to destinations your mother would rather you stayed away from.” “We have very few answers,’’ Mr. Warmbier said. Asked about his son’s medical condition, he said only, “We’re trying to make him comfortable.’’
He was detained at the Pyongyang airport in early January as he tried to leave and charged with an unspecified “hostile act” against the government. He later gave a tearful televised statement, in which he confessed to stealing a propaganda poster; he was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor during a one-hour trial in March 2016. In December 2015, the younger Mr. Warmbier embarked on a five-day tour of the North with a Chinese company that advertised “budget travel to destinations your mother would rather you stayed away from.” During the news conference, his father lashed out at the tour company, Young Pioneer Tours, and accused North Korea of endangering Americans by luring them to the North.
Otto Warmbier was detained at the Pyongyang airport in early January as he tried to leave and charged with an unspecified “hostile act” against the government. He later gave a tearful televised statement, in which he confessed to stealing a propaganda poster; he was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor during a one-hour trial in March 2016.
Mr. Warmbier, describing his son’s return as “bittersweet,” wore the same cream-colored jacket that Otto wore when making his confession — a statement that the father called “an amazing performance.” The elder Mr. Warmbier also dismissed the North’s explanation that his son’s condition was the result of a combination of botulism and a sleeping pill.
“Even if you believe their explanation of botulism and a sleeping pill causing the coma — and we don’t — there is no excuse for any civilized nation to have kept his condition secret and denied him top notch medical care for so long.”
Here in Wyoming, a close-knit city of 8,400 where the Warmbiers live on a private lane near a golf course, Mr. Warmbier’s release brought mixed feelings — relief that he is home, but also sadness over his medical condition. Every Sunday, the local churches have been praying for his safe return.Here in Wyoming, a close-knit city of 8,400 where the Warmbiers live on a private lane near a golf course, Mr. Warmbier’s release brought mixed feelings — relief that he is home, but also sadness over his medical condition. Every Sunday, the local churches have been praying for his safe return.
“Now, we’ll pray for his health,” said Sherry Sheffield, the city’s unofficial historian.“Now, we’ll pray for his health,” said Sherry Sheffield, the city’s unofficial historian.
Tree trunks and telephone poles along Springfield Pike, the city’s main thoroughfare, were decorated with blue and white ribbons, the color of the local high school, in Mr. Warmbier’s honor. Residents planned to line the street in front of the high school, in a show of respect to family members as they leave Thursday’s news conference. Tree trunks and telephone poles along Springfield Pike, the city’s main thoroughfare, were decorated with blue and white ribbons, the color of the local high school, in Mr. Warmbier’s honor. Residents planned to line the street in front of the high school, in a show of respect to family members as they left Thursday’s news conference.
Still, Ms. Sheffield said, many people have questions.Still, Ms. Sheffield said, many people have questions.
“The biggest question is, why would anyone go there?” she asked. “What kind of tour company takes people to North Korea?” “What kind of tour company takes people to North Korea?” she asked.
For much of the 17 months that Mr. Warmbier was in North Korean custody, his parents maintained a public silence. A family friend, Michael Forsythe, said officials in the Obama administration had urged the Warmbiers “to kind of keep quiet, to not rustle feathers because you could interfere and make things worse.” For much of the 17 months that Mr. Warmbier was in North Korean custody, his parents maintained a public silence. A family friend, Michael Forsythe, said Wednesday that Otto’s situation was kind of like the ‘‘elephant in the room’’ — everyone here shared the Warmbier’s grief, but no one wanted to bring it up.
But eventually, Mr. Forsythe said, the couple concluded that their silence had done little or nothing. Last month, they spoke out on the Fox News program Fox & Friends, amid rising tensions between the United States and North Korea over the North’s nuclear weapons program. Fred Warmbier said he and his wife had traveled to Washington a dozen times, and met with numerous officials, including John Kerry, as well as the Swedish ambassador to the United States, when Mr. Obama was president. Sweden has acted as an interlocutor between the United States and North Korea.
“We relied on this false premise that they would treat Otto fairly and let him go,” the father said.
But eventually, the couple concluded that their silence had done little or nothing. Last month, they spoke out on the Fox News program Fox & Friends, amid rising tensions between the United States and North Korea over the North’s nuclear weapons program.
“Nothing Otto may or may not have done in North Korea rises to this level of punishment,” the father, Fred, said then. He added that he wanted his son to be “included in any dialogue or diplomacy with North Korea.”“Nothing Otto may or may not have done in North Korea rises to this level of punishment,” the father, Fred, said then. He added that he wanted his son to be “included in any dialogue or diplomacy with North Korea.”
Last month, North Korean officials asked for an emergency meeting with their American counterparts in New York, which opened the door for Mr. Warmbier’s return. But the Warmbiers learned of their son’s grave medical condition only last week. Last month, North Korean officials asked for an emergency meeting with their American counterparts in New York, which opened the door for Mr. Warmbier’s return. But the Warmbiers learned of their son’s grave medical condition only last week. The father said the family now feels liberated, unafraid to speak their minds.