American Held in North Korea Described as Family Man
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Version 0 of 1. An Ohio municipal worker seized by the authorities in North Korea while he was visiting on a tourist visa last month was described by his lawyer on Monday as an avid traveler, devoted husband and father to three young children, who was anxiously missed by his family. The detained man, Jeffrey Edward Fowle, 56, from the Dayton suburb of Miamisburg, is the third American known to be held in North Korea. The country’s state-run news agency, which first reported he was in custody on Friday, said that Mr. Fowle had “perpetrated activities that violated the laws of our republic, which did not fit his stated purpose of visiting our republic as a tourist.” The agency offered no further explanation. The written statement distributed by Mr. Fowle’s lawyer, Timothy N. Tepe of Lebanon, Ohio, was the family’s first comment on his detention. There was no mention of Japanese news reports that Mr. Fowle had left a Bible in his hotel room, which may have played a role in the North Korean government’s decision to detain him, possibly on suspicions that he was a Christian proselytizer. The statement said Mr. Fowle had been “traveling to North Korea on vacation as part of a tour,” and that he “loves to travel and loves the adventure of experiencing different cultures and seeing new places.” “Mrs. Fowle and the children miss Jeffrey very much and are anxious for his return home,” the statement said. It also thanked diplomats at the Swedish Embassy, which acts on behalf of the United States interests in North Korea, “for their continuing efforts on Jeff’s behalf.” The United States and North Korea have no diplomatic relations. Mr. Tepe declined to answer questions after releasing statement, which asked that the family’s “privacy be respected in the days to come.” Mr. Fowle was believed to have been detained as he was about to depart from the country in mid-May after a two-week organized tour. North Korea is known to be holding at least two other American citizens: Kenneth Bae, 45, a Korean-American missionary, sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in April 2013 after he had been accused of trying to establish a secret proselytizing network in the country; and Matthew Todd Miller, 24, described by North Korea’s state-run press as an asylum seeker who destroyed his tourist visa upon arriving in Pyongyang on April 10. |