Breaking news...Otto Warmbier is being/has been released by North Korea Update: 6/19 Otto has died.

[Guest]

If I were Otto's mama, I'd go all Commando on Kim-Jung-what's-his-face and take him out myself.

 

(Okay not really, but I'd daydream of being Arnold...)

Edited June 20, 2017 by Kinsa

[Angie in VA]

Heart-breaking.  :(

[creekland]

A tragic ending to a tragic story of what was, by all accounts I've read, a nice young man.  My condolences go out to his family and friends.  I sincerely hope he sensed the peace his parents spoke of at the end.

 

I have no love for NK's leadership.

[madteaparty]

I'm just heartbroken and weeping for his parents. You raise your kid and sendthem out into the world and they don't come back? Ah his poor mother.

Edited June 19, 2017 by madteaparty

[poppy]

Well I didn't know anything about him or how he was held there.  I have no words.   

 

I am praying for his family and friends.   Insane that he was held for taking a poster.    

 

We don't really have any reason to believe he took a poster, or did anything against the rules.  He was a kid in a tour group and was not politically motivated.The confession was not credible. 

[Stacia]

It's heartbreaking. I do hope he realized he was at home among family & friends in his last days.

 

USA Today posted this article:

 

Tour group says no more Americans to North Korea after Warmbier death

 

 

[Slartibartfast]

It's heartbreaking. I do hope he realized he was at home among family & friends in his last days.

 

USA Today posted this article:

 

Tour group says no more Americans to North Korea after Warmbier death

 

 

I am glad they won't be taking more Americans. I don't believe he took the poster and his roomate from the trip didn't think he would have https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/josh-rogin/wp/2017/06/15/otto-warmbiers-north-korea-roommate-speaks-out/?utm_term=.fd0a53a2b78a

 

They could very well have taken him and created some trumped up charge just because he was American.

 

I am very sad he has died, I hope they can discover what happened while he was held but that is unlikely. :(

Edited June 20, 2017 by Slartibartfast

[Ausmumof3]

Edited because I realised that Otto died and further discussion isn't appropriate here.

 

😢

Edited June 20, 2017 by Ausmumof3

[Scarlett]

I know a young woman in a vegetative state.  It is not a way anyone should have to live.  I have to admit I felt relief to hear he died.  I guess if it was my kid I might feel differently but I doubt it. 

 

It is just a sickening story all around.  The world is a scary place. 

[mommyoffive]

We don't really have any reason to believe he took a poster, or did anything against the rules.  He was a kid in a tour group and was not politically motivated.The confession was not credible. 

 

Yes I see that now.  I hadn't heard of this story before, after reading this I went and read some articles.  Of course I didn't believe what North Korea said and had him say.  My statement was made before I had read anything on him. 

 

 

My heart goes out to his family.   

[Selkie]

What a horrible, needless tragedy. I can't even imagine the suffering his parents are going through.  :mad:

[Miss Peregrine]

On the news this morning it was reported that there are at least 3 other Americans being held. Does anyone know anything about them?

 

I am incredibly sad about Otto. I can't stop thinking about him. :(

[Scarlett]

On the news this morning it was reported that there are at least 3 other Americans being held. Does anyone know anything about them?

 

I am incredibly sad about Otto. I can't stop thinking about him. :(

 

 

I am sad for his loved ones.  Otto's suffering is over now. 

[Amira]

On the news this morning it was reported that there are at least 3 other Americans being held. Does anyone know anything about them?

 

I am incredibly sad about Otto. I can't stop thinking about him. :(

Here's a list of Americans who have been detained, including the three who are still known to be there. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_foreign_nationals_detained_in_North_Korea

 

This is a story about another man who is believed to have been taken to North Korea. https://www.voanews.com/a/new-hope-us-student-china/3792015.html

[Miss Peregrine]

Here's a list of Americans who have been detained, including the three who are still known to be there. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_foreign_nationals_detained_in_North_Korea

 

This is a story about another man who is believed to have been taken to North Korea. https://www.voanews.com/a/new-hope-us-student-china/3792015.html

Thank you.

[Word Nerd]

Some media outlets like Salon and The Nightly Show mocked and skewered Warmbier at the time of his sentencing, so Janeway is hardly the only person who holds that view. 

[PrincessMommy]

On the news this morning it was reported that there are at least 3 other Americans being held. Does anyone know anything about them?

 

I am incredibly sad about Otto. I can't stop thinking about him. :(

 

I read in one of the stories that the Swiss were visiting one of these of the Americans when they got word that Otto was in a coma and started to immediate push for his release on humanitarian grounds.  I think I had read they had not been permitted to see Otto before - now we know why.   So sad they held him in a coma for so long.  

[MBM]

The US does not have an embassy or consulate in North Korea. Instead we work through the Embassy of Sweden but they can only help us to the extent North Korea will allow.

 

Shortly after the Swedes saw Otto and the other detainees in May 2017, North Korea requested a meeting with the US. Joseph Yun, who is the US Special Representative for North Korea Policy, met with them in NYC on June 6 and learned about Otto's condition. Yun and a medical team went over to see Otto on June 12. Upon seeing Otto, Yun demanded he be brought back to the US on humanitarian grounds and they agreed.

 

Otto's injuries took place several weeks after he was sentenced in March 2016 according to the images sent from NK. Because they were so significant and long-standing, he had a lot of damage. The brain stem was fine though. 

 

Nothing is being said about the other three but NK generally looks harshly upon Asians who are not aligned with their ideology. Previous detainees have been treated very badly.

 

It irks me that too often the media is not stating that Otto allegedly took the banner down. The US State Department now and from the get-go is not accepting what North Korea claims happened. The circumstances are extremely fishy from the moment Otto was taken from the airport security line to the tour operator being told Otto would not be boarding the plane because he suddenly fell extremely ill, to the trial. The video showing Otto taking the banner down, which might be someone else (dark figure, grainy), could have been made in the time between his detainment and trial -- almost two months -- and the reasons he gave for stealing the poster have been proven to be untrue and odd -- so it seems it's a coerced, scripted confession. The US State Department is not accepting it. Yet, it's being portrayed as factual by the media.

 

His family said he was initially in anguish but shortly after being with them his demeanor became peaceful.

 

I really hope they get the other three out and that they are alive and conscious.

Edited June 20, 2017 by MBM

[PrincessMommy]

MBM

 

Yes, you're right.  It's the Swedes, not the Swiss as I stated earlier.  And i agree. I wish the media would also state "allegedly".   It's like once they get a story line they can't let go.  Ugh. 

Edited June 20, 2017 by PrincessMommy