Imprisoned in Korea for 17 months, Warmbier died due to 'torturous mistreatment'
KARACHI: This is in response to the tragic demise of Otto Warmbier, the 22-year-old student who was returned to the US in a coma last week after being imprisoned in North Korea for 17 months. His parents released a statement that said his death was the inevitable result of “the awful torturous mistreatment our son received at the hands of the North Koreans.”
Warmbier was arrested when departing from North Korea at Pyongyang airport in January 2016 and sentenced in March to 15 years hard labour for supposedly stealing a propaganda poster from his hotel room, where he had been staying as part of an organised tour. The University of Virginia student cried at his sentencing, saying: “I have made the worst mistake of my life.” The trial lasted less than an hour. When he was returned to the US this month on “humanitarian grounds”, he had already suffered extensive brain damage and was in a vegetative state.
Human Rights Watch said Warmbier’s death “after being abused in North Korean custody” proved the regime was willing to “brutalise and kill to maintain their hold on power.” North Korea’s cruel treatment of Warmbier must be condemned by all nations. Justice should be demanded for the merciless conduct that stole the life of an otherwise healthy young man.
Saba Ahmed
Published in The Express Tribune, June 23rd, 2017.
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