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Otto Warmbier. Jump to navigation Jump to search. Otto Frederick Warmbier (December 12, 1994 – June 19, 2017) was an American college student who was imprisoned in North Korea in 2016.
Trial and conviction. On March 16, 2016, a few hours after U.S. envoy Bill Richardson met in New York with two North Korean diplomats from the United Nations office to press for Warmbier's release, Warmbier was tried and convicted for the theft of the propaganda poster from a restricted area of the hotel.
The University of Cincinnati doctors found no evidence of botulism, but several neurologists said that botulism cannot be ruled out, given the length of time before Warmbier's return to the U.S. GQ journalist Doug Bock Clark suggested that Warmbier might have attempted suicide some time after his sentencing.
^ Cortellessa, Eric (June 22, 2017). "Otto Warmbier's family kept his Jewishness under wraps while North Korea held him hostage". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on July 24, 2017. Retrieved July 21, 2017. ^ Gladstone, Rick (March 15, 2016). "U.S. Troubleshooter Meets North Korea Diplomats on Detained American". The New York Times.
Otto Frederick Warmbier (December 12, 1994 – June 19, 2017) was an American college student who was imprisoned in North Korea in 2016 on a charge of subversion. In June 2017, he was released by North Korea in a vegetative state and died soon afterward. Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
North Korea - Level 4: Do Not Travel You cannot use a U.S. passport to travel to, in, or through North Korea without a special validation from the Department of State. Special validations are granted only in very limited circumstances. More information on how to apply for the special validation is available here.
AmericanOtto Frederick Warmbier / Nationality
Fred WarmbierCindy WarmbierOtto Frederick Warmbier/Parents
Firstly there is no shortage of booze in North Korea, and no limit on consumption. It could even be considered a national pastime – much like life in South Korea, China and much of East Asia. The main drink of choice is soju.
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, also known as North Korea has banned its citizens from laughing, shopping, and drinking from Friday onwards as a part of 11-day mourning on the 10th anniversary of former leader Kim Jong-il.
This week, we have a special guest, Fred Warmbier, owner of a metal-finishing business he founded in Cincinnati in 1998.
December 12, 1994Otto Frederick Warmbier / Date of birth
Freedom of movement North Korean citizens usually cannot freely travel around the country, let alone travel abroad. Emigration and immigration are strictly controlled.
national flag consisting of two horizontal stripes of blue separated from a wide red central stripe by thinner stripes of white; off-centre toward the hoist is a white disk bearing a red star. The flag has a width-to-length ratio of 1 to 2.
North Korea is the world's only country ruled by a dead man. North Korea has a very unique form of ruling. Necrocracy is a government that still follows the rules of a former and dead leader.
PyongyangNorth Korea / CapitalPyongyang is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about 109 km upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 population census, it has a population of 3,255,288. Wikipedia
But what happened to Warmbier—the American college student who was sent home brain-damaged from North Korea —is even more shocking than anyone knew. By Doug Bock Clar k. July 23, 2018.
The Warmbiers were optimistic, up-by-their-bootstraps patriots, and they hoped that with American health care and their love, their son might again become the vivacious person he'd been when he left. Otto Warmbier was transferred to an ambulance upon his return home to Cincinnati in June 2017. John Minchillo.
When Trump learned of Otto's condition, he doubled down on the order for Yun to rush to Pyongyang and bring Otto home. The North Koreans were unilaterally informed that an American plane would soon land in Pyongyang and that United States diplomats and doctors would get off.
Early on in Pyongyang, Otto and the other Young Pioneers were led aboard the U.S.S. Pueblo, an American Navy spy ship that had been seized by the North Koreans in 1968 and today serves as an odd tourist attraction. While they toured the ship, the Young Pioneers were regaled by a North Korean who told the foreign visitors about capturing the ship from the “imperial enemy.” The 82 American sailors captured on the Pueblo were beaten and starved for 11 months before finally being released. For Otto, the story made clear what he had perhaps overlooked before: that he was in enemy territory. Even though the Korean War had stalemated in 1953, the lack of a peace agreement meant that the North was technically still at war with the South and its ally, the U.S. Stepping from the boat, Otto “was a little bit shocked,” said Danny Gratton, an impish British 40-something greeting-card salesman who was his roommate for the tour.
Otto became a symbol used to build “a case for war on emotional grounds, ” the New York Times editorial board wrote. As the Trump administration and North Korea spun Otto's story for their own ends, I spent six months reporting—from Washington, D.C., to Seoul—trying to figure out what had actually happened to him.
Otto's eyes remained wide open and blank. Fred told Otto that he had missed him and was overjoyed to have him home. But Otto's alien keening only continued, impossible to comfort. It was only later that a member of Otto’s tour group would wonder about “the two-hour window that none of us can account for [Otto].”.
competed to provide a story. North Korea blamed Otto's condition on a combination of botulism and an unexpected reaction to a sleeping pill, an explanation that many American doctors said was unlikely.
When I was in my freshman year of college, the story of Otto Warmbier, the American college student who allegedly stole a North Korean propaganda poster, was all over the news. I remember the story always being very political from the start.
Paul LeBlanc at CNN reports that before Otto Warmbier went to North Korea, he grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio as a star student, star athlete, and universally well-liked person. He graduated from Wyoming High School as a salutatorian and got a scholarship in college to the University of Virginia.
First, Warmbier went to China to meet other Young Pioneers before flying to Pyongyang. His group included several other tourists from the West, and he would be closest to Danny Gratton, a British salesman in his 40s who ended up being his roommate throughout the trip.
Coroners later found no physical damage on Warmbier, which contested the version of events put forth by Warmbier’s family. Coroners say there was no evidence that Warmbier was beaten, although he likely was psychologically tortured like other American detainees, and psychological torture was still a violation of his human rights.
The story of Otto Warmbier is one of tragedy and a miscarriage of justice by the North Korean regime for political gain. There is little evidence of Warmbier stealing the propaganda poster, and no matter what accident may have happened to Warmbier, the facts remain.