Death to be probed
Man released from North Korean prison in coma dies
CINCINNATI — A coroner’s office in Ohio is investigating the death of a 22-year-old college student who died shortly after his return to the U.S. after nearly a year and a half in North Korean detention, a spokesman said Tuesday.
The spokesman for Hamilton County Coroner Dr. Lakshmi Sammaraco said the office “accepted the case” of Otto Warmbier, who died Monday in a Cincinnati hospital.
Wambier’s parents did not cite a specific cause of death, but cited “awful, torturous mistreatment” by North Korea. Doctors had described Warmbier’s condition as a state of “unresponsive wakefulness” and said he suffered a “severe neurological injury” of unknown cause.
He arrived in Ohio on June 13 after being held for more than 17 months.
North Korea must bear “heavy responsibility” for Warmbier’s death, said South Korean President Moon Jae-in. He said in an interview on CBS This Morning broadcast Tuesday that while it’s not known for sure what happened, there can be speculation that North Korea made “unjust and cruel treatments” to Warmbier.
Warmbier, a University of Virginia student, was accused of trying to steal a propaganda banner while visiting with a tour group and was convicted of subversion. He was put before North Korean officials and journalists for a televised “confession.”
“I have made the worst mistake of my life!” he exclaimed, choking up as he begged to be allowed to reunite with his parents and two younger siblings.
He was sentenced in March, 2016, to 15 years in prison with hard labour. His family said they was told he had been in a coma since soon after his sentencing.
Doctors said he suffered extensive loss of brain tissue and “profound weakness and contraction” of his muscles, arms and legs. His eyes opened and blinked but without any sign that he understood verbal commands or his surroundings.
Unresponsive wakefulness is a new medical term for persistent vegetative state.
North Korea said Warmbier went into a coma after contracting botulism and taking a sleeping pill. Doctors in Cincinnati said they found no active sign of botulism or evidence of beatings.
In a White House statement, U.S. President Donald Trump said, “A lot of bad things happened, but at least we got him home to be with his parents.” He called North Korea a “brutal regime.”
Warmbier had planned to study in China in his third year of college and heard about Chinese travel companies offering trips to North Korea. He was leaving North Korea on Jan. 2, 2016, when he was detained at the airport.
The organizers of Warmbier’s trip say they will no longer take U.S. citizens to the country. Young Pioneer Tours said Tuesday on Facebook that his death shows that the risk American tourists face in visiting North Korea “has become too high.”
The U.S. Department of State warns against travel to North Korea. While nearly all Americans who have been there have left without incident, visitors can be seized and face lengthy incarceration for what might seem like minor infractions.
Three Americans remain held in North Korea. The U.S. government accuses North Korea of using such detainees as political pawns. North Korea accuses Washington and South Korea of sending spies to overthrow its government.