The 22-year-old Otto Warmbier had been set to study abroad at a university in Hong Kong when he decided to stop over in North Korea before. But his holiday turned into a fight for freedom when he was arrested for stealing a propaganda poster.
Warmbier was sentenced to 15 years’ hard labor in March 2016. He was eventually released by North Korea after a campaign by his parents. Right before the University of Virginia student was flown back, the regime revealed he had been in a coma since the day after he was sentenced. He died days after returning home.
Doctors said he returned with severe brain damage, but it wasn’t clear what caused it. His death was confirmed in June 2017 in a family statement via the hospital he was staying in.
In latest buzz, it has taken nearly three months for Cindy and Fred Warmbier to reveal specific details surrounding their son's final days in the United States. But having begun the grieving process, Otto Warmbier's parents are now ready to talk. And they are not mincing words.
"We're here to tell you, as witnesses to the terror of their regime, North Korea is not a victim. We felt it was time to tell the truth about the condition that Otto was in."
Fred Warmbier's statement came during a live interview with Brooke Baldwin, one that -- for the first time -- helped answer many questions. Read more at CNN.