Pyongyang gives American student 15 years hard labor
Otto Warmbier – a 21 year old student from Virginia University - was arrested on January 22 and sentenced today by the Supreme People's Court. The charges include "hostile acts" against the state and "theft of material of national propaganda". The young man confessed everything during a press conference and begged for mercy. The Kim regime holds three US citizens in jail.
Seoul (AsiaNews) - North Korea’s Supreme People's Court has sentenced a US citizen to 15 years hard labor. The judges recognized Otto Warmbier – a 21 year old student from the University of Virginia - guilty of "hostile acts" against the state and "theft of material of national propaganda". The North’s media had announced his arrest on January 22: Warmbier was stopped because "under the guise of being a tourist, he was conducting criminal activities against the State, with the tacit connivance of the US government and under its manipulation".
The student has admitted his "guilt" during a press conference broadcast live on national TV. He called the incident "the worst mistake of my life" and begged for mercy "for my crimes." He told of having removed a political banner for a member of the Friendship United Methodist Church, who wanted it “as a trophy”.
The friend in question is a member of Friendship United Methodist Church in Wyoming (Ohio): the mother of a friend of Warmbier’s had promised him a used car worth ,000 if he succeeded and a payment of 0,000 to his family if he was detained, according to the North’s media.
There are three American citizens in prisons of Pyongyang, but lately the regime has used arrests and convictions to get money or humanitarian aid from Washington in exchange for releases.
The sentence comes at the height of tensions over major joint military exercises between Seoul and Washington, strongly opposed by Pyongyang, and after heavy sanctions from the UN Security Council launched in response to the fourth nuclear test on 6 January and the launch of rocket / satellite on 7 February.
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