The previous thread on Otto Warmbier, the UVA student from Ohio who came home from North Korea in a coma and died, has been closed. But there is a story this week from GQ. The U.S. doctor who went to get him was told by the Korean hospital staff that Otto had his brain injury within a day of getting his 15 year sentence and there was no sign that he had been beaten.
https://www.gq.com/story/otto-warmbier-north-korea-american-hostage-true-story
IIRC the author doesn’t come right out and say it, but the strong inference is Warmbier attempted suicide.
Tragic
Wow. So tragic. Thank you for posting.
This was a wonderfully written article about such a very sad event. The death of this young man is tragic, and how it was used for political purposes is also tragic.
I do hope it leads to fewer young Americans taking such trips. It seems kind of entitled to me for an affluent young adult to think it appropriate to sightsee in such a place - it’s not like he was studying world cultures, or researching. He was there essentially to gawk. What happened is tragic, but it was of his own doing. His parents thought it was a bad idea - I wish they had emphasized that more. Yes, he was an adult, capable of making his own decisions, but he was still at an age where his brain wasn’t fully developed, and prone to stupid mistakes, travelling to a country where such stupid mistakes can be fatal.
This explanation does make more sense than all the other narratives I’ve read, and I find is irresponsible of the administration to have not been forthcoming. The idea that he was beaten does fuel anger, but in my mind the kind of psychological torture that would cause a young man to commit suicide that soon after sentencing, and the unwillingness of the NK government to release his under those circumstances, elicit just as much anger - maybe more. I do wonder if NK somehow initially thought he might recover, and if that’s why he was kept - so they could hide the fact that they allowed him to attempt suicide. If his brain was that damaged, it suggests he was not on what we would consider suicide watch. If other prisoners have made attempts, then it’s not that surprising of a prisoner who was younger than most, with little understanding of what he was actually facing (thanks in part to the public perception that Americans are mistreated within the NK prison system).
This article is absolutely compelling reading especially as such a tragedy. When his story was first reported I could not get past the idea of thinking that travel to North Korea was something anyone would have chosen to do. This article reveals that among others who had been imprisoned in North Korea over the years and later released had indeed attempted suicide and sadly several did succeed in suicide, sometimes years after their release.
“The judgment may be mostly a symbolic victory since North Korea has yet to respond to any of the allegations in court and there’s no practical mechanism to force it do so. But the family may nonetheless be able to recoup damages through a Justice Department-administered fund for victims of state-sponsored acts of terrorism, and may look to seize other assets held by the country outside of North Korea.”
I just finished reading this article - it’s a really good piece of reporting.