College Student Comes Home

In December of 2015, American college student Otto Warmbier had a unique experience: he went visit the dangerous world power of North Korea. Five days after arriving on January 2, 2016, when he was preparing to leave he was arrested for attempting to steal a propaganda poster for a friend who claimed that he wanted it “as a trophy.”

A month later in February of 2016, he issued a public apology to cameras and diplomats alike for his actions. Another month later he was sentenced to fifteen years in prison and hard labor. This did not sit well in the United States.

When President Trump was sworn into office one goal on his agenda was to take care of his citizen who had yet to come home after a year of detainment in North Korea. Rex Tillerson was proud to announce earlier this morning that he was on his way home. Trump told Tillerson to bring Warmbier home, and thankfully, after a year, he is en route to being reunited with his family.

His return also means that he will not have to serve the 15-year sentence, but that is the least of his worries. In a statement released by his parents, it became known that he is in a coma and has been in one for a year now. Not only has Otto been treated poorly but also his family, which became known in the same statement which said, “We want the world to know how we and our son have been brutalized and terrorized by the pariah regime”

For now, though, the Warmbier family can rest somewhat easy knowing that their son, a 22-year-old medical student at the University of Virginia is coming home.

Featured Image via Flickr/rapidtravelchai