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One year ago today: American student Otto Warmbier returns home in a coma
Otto Warmbier
Born Otto Frederick Warmbier
December 12, 1994
Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Died June 19, 2017 (aged 22)
Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Nationality American
Education Wyoming High School (2013)
Alma mater University of Virginia
Known for Arrest and imprisonment in North Korea
Parent(s) Fred Warmbier, Cindy Warmbier (née Garber)
Detainment
Country North Korea
Detained January 2, 2016
Released June 12, 2017
Days in detention 527
Sentence 15 years of hard labor
Reason for detention Attempted theft of a propaganda poster
Otto Frederick Warmbier (December 12, 1994 – June 19, 2017) was an American college student from Cincinnati, Ohio, who was arrested in North Korea in January 2016 for attempted theft, for which he was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment. While incarcerated, he fell into a coma and never regained consciousness, dying in June 2017.
....
Release
Fred and Cindy Warmbier met with numerous Obama administration officials, including former Secretary of State John Kerry, and with the Swedish ambassador, who served as an interlocutor between the U.S. and North Korea. In May 2017, Fred Warmbier said that the Obama administration had encouraged them to keep a low profile about their son's situation, but that he and his wife wanted their son to be part of any negotiations between the United States and North Korea.
On June 12, 2017, Rex Tillerson, the United States Secretary of State, announced that North Korea had released Warmbier. Tillerson also announced that the U.S. State Department secured Warmbier's release at the direction of President Donald Trump. Tillerson said that the State Department continues discussing three other detained Americans with North Korea.
Subsequent media reports revealed that at a meeting in New York on June 6, North Korean officials had advised U.S. State Department Special Representative Joseph Yun that Warmbier had contracted food-borne botulism shortly after his sentencing, and had fallen into a coma after taking a sleeping pill. A delegation headed by Yun flew to Pyongyang to oversee Warmbier's repatriation to the U.S.
After 17 months in prison, Warmbier, in a comatose state, was medically evacuated to Cincinnati, Ohio, arriving in the evening of June 13, 2017. He was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where doctors tried to determine what caused his coma and if there were signs of recovery.
Medical condition
Warmbier's physicians at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center stated that he was in "a state of unresponsive wakefulness," commonly known as persistent vegetative state. He was able to breathe on his own and blink his eyes, but otherwise showed no signs of awareness of his environment, such as understanding language, nor did he initiate any purposeful movements.
Medical records from North Korea showed that Warmbier had been in this state since April 2016, one month after his conviction. During his release, the North Koreans provided a disc containing two magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scans, dated April and July 2016, showing damage to the brain.
According to his medical team, brain scans revealed Warmbier had suffered extensive loss of brain tissue throughout his brain, consistent with a cardiopulmonary event that caused the brain to be deprived of oxygen. Doctors said they did not know what caused the cardiac arrest, but that it could have been triggered by a respiratory arrest, while a neurointensive care specialist at the hospital stated that there was no evidence indicating botulism. They said physicians found no evidence of physical abuse or torture; scans of Warmbier's neck and head were normal outside of the brain injury.
Warmbier's father held a press conference on June 15, but declined to answer a reporter's question as to whether or not the neurological injury was caused by an assault, saying he would let the doctors make that determination. He stated that they did not believe anything the North Koreans told them. He expressed anger at the North Koreans for his son's condition, saying, "There is no excuse for any civilized nation to have kept his condition secret, and denied him top-notch medical care for so long."
Death and public reactions
Warmbier died in the hospital at 2:20 p.m. on June 19, 2017, at the age of 22. His family issued a statement expressing their sadness, thanking the hospital staff for their actions. President Trump issued a statement regarding Warmbier's death: "There is nothing more tragic for a parent than to lose a child in the prime of life. Our thoughts and prayers are with Otto's family and friends, and all who loved him." Others criticized Warmbier.
Born Otto Frederick Warmbier
December 12, 1994
Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Died June 19, 2017 (aged 22)
Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Nationality American
Education Wyoming High School (2013)
Alma mater University of Virginia
Known for Arrest and imprisonment in North Korea
Parent(s) Fred Warmbier, Cindy Warmbier (née Garber)
Detainment
Country North Korea
Detained January 2, 2016
Released June 12, 2017
Days in detention 527
Sentence 15 years of hard labor
Reason for detention Attempted theft of a propaganda poster
Otto Frederick Warmbier (December 12, 1994 – June 19, 2017) was an American college student from Cincinnati, Ohio, who was arrested in North Korea in January 2016 for attempted theft, for which he was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment. While incarcerated, he fell into a coma and never regained consciousness, dying in June 2017.
....
Release
Fred and Cindy Warmbier met with numerous Obama administration officials, including former Secretary of State John Kerry, and with the Swedish ambassador, who served as an interlocutor between the U.S. and North Korea. In May 2017, Fred Warmbier said that the Obama administration had encouraged them to keep a low profile about their son's situation, but that he and his wife wanted their son to be part of any negotiations between the United States and North Korea.
On June 12, 2017, Rex Tillerson, the United States Secretary of State, announced that North Korea had released Warmbier. Tillerson also announced that the U.S. State Department secured Warmbier's release at the direction of President Donald Trump. Tillerson said that the State Department continues discussing three other detained Americans with North Korea.
Subsequent media reports revealed that at a meeting in New York on June 6, North Korean officials had advised U.S. State Department Special Representative Joseph Yun that Warmbier had contracted food-borne botulism shortly after his sentencing, and had fallen into a coma after taking a sleeping pill. A delegation headed by Yun flew to Pyongyang to oversee Warmbier's repatriation to the U.S.
After 17 months in prison, Warmbier, in a comatose state, was medically evacuated to Cincinnati, Ohio, arriving in the evening of June 13, 2017. He was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where doctors tried to determine what caused his coma and if there were signs of recovery.
Medical condition
Warmbier's physicians at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center stated that he was in "a state of unresponsive wakefulness," commonly known as persistent vegetative state. He was able to breathe on his own and blink his eyes, but otherwise showed no signs of awareness of his environment, such as understanding language, nor did he initiate any purposeful movements.
Medical records from North Korea showed that Warmbier had been in this state since April 2016, one month after his conviction. During his release, the North Koreans provided a disc containing two magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scans, dated April and July 2016, showing damage to the brain.
According to his medical team, brain scans revealed Warmbier had suffered extensive loss of brain tissue throughout his brain, consistent with a cardiopulmonary event that caused the brain to be deprived of oxygen. Doctors said they did not know what caused the cardiac arrest, but that it could have been triggered by a respiratory arrest, while a neurointensive care specialist at the hospital stated that there was no evidence indicating botulism. They said physicians found no evidence of physical abuse or torture; scans of Warmbier's neck and head were normal outside of the brain injury.
Warmbier's father held a press conference on June 15, but declined to answer a reporter's question as to whether or not the neurological injury was caused by an assault, saying he would let the doctors make that determination. He stated that they did not believe anything the North Koreans told them. He expressed anger at the North Koreans for his son's condition, saying, "There is no excuse for any civilized nation to have kept his condition secret, and denied him top-notch medical care for so long."
Death and public reactions
Warmbier died in the hospital at 2:20 p.m. on June 19, 2017, at the age of 22. His family issued a statement expressing their sadness, thanking the hospital staff for their actions. President Trump issued a statement regarding Warmbier's death: "There is nothing more tragic for a parent than to lose a child in the prime of life. Our thoughts and prayers are with Otto's family and friends, and all who loved him." Others criticized Warmbier.
Thoughts and prayers. Terrific hotels, though.
9 replies
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