American Student Otto Warmbier Dies, Days After His Release From North Korean Prison

American student Otto Warmbier has died, mere days after he was released from imprisonment in North Korea, ABC News reports.

Warmbier, 22, had initially been detained for allegedly stealing a propaganda poster in North Korea while visiting as a tourist in December of 2015. After a tearful confession during his trial, Warmbier was sentenced to 15 years in prison with hard labour.

The University of Virginia student arrived back in his home state of Ohio last week, following 17 months of incarceration, reportedly following negotiations by the U.S. State Department’s special envoy on North Korea, Joseph Yun. However, Warmbier returned with severe brain damage, in a state of what doctors called “unresponsive wakefulness”, in which he was unable to recognise language or respond to verbal commands.

His family today said he passed away in an Ohio hospital.

According to the Washington Post, North Korean officials told Warmbier’s family that he had fallen ill from botulism and fell into a coma after taking a sleeping pill.

A senior U.S. official disputed that explanation, telling the New York Times that they had received intelligence reports that Warmbier was “repeatedly beaten” in custody.

Warmbier’s parents, Fred and Cindy, released a statement shortly after their son’s release, saying they wanted “the world to know how we and our son have been brutalised and terrorised by the pariah regime”.

The 22-year-old had travelled to North Korea with China-based company Young Pioneer Tours. On Facebook, they announced they would no longer arrange tours for U.S. citizens to North Korea, “considering these facts and this tragic outcome”.

A video of Warmbier enjoying a snowball fight in North Korea has since been released by his family.

It’s not known how Warmbier’s death will affect the already-escalating relations between North Korea and the United States.

Photo: YouTube (stimmekoreas)