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U.S. student sentenced to hard labour in North Korea; Washington condemns move
21-year old U.S. student Otto Warmbier was sentenced for 15 years hard labour for theft of a propaganda item. This step has received international attention while the U.S. is pressuring North Korea to release Otto on humanitarian grounds.
Yesterday, North Korea's Supreme Court sentenced a 21-year old American student, Otto Warmbier to 15 years of hard labour for crimes against the state, a punishment Washington condemned as politically motivated.
Warmbier, a University of Virginia student, was detained in January for trying to steal an item bearing a propaganda slogan from his hotel in Pyongyang, North Korean media said previously. The sentence by the Supreme Court has rightly invoked harsh reactions from U.S. and some human rights organisations.
The U.S. State Department called the sentence "unduly harsh" and White House spokesman Josh Earnest said it was "increasingly clear" that North Korea sought to use U.S. citizens as pawns to pursue a political agenda.
"The accused confessed to the serious offense committed against the DPRK, pursuant to the U.S. government's hostile policy toward it, in a bid to impair the unity of its people after entering it as a tourist," the state-controlled KCNA news agency reported, referring to the press conference where Warmbier stated that his crime was “Very severe and pre-planned.”
State Department spokesman Mark Toner called on North Korea to pardon Warmbier, a student from Wyoming, Ohio, and release him immediately on humanitarian grounds.
Speaking at a regular news briefing in Washington, Toner said the case underscored the risks associated with travel to North Korea, and added: "The Department of State strongly recommends against all travel by U.S. citizens to North Korea."
The United States has no diplomatic relations with North Korea, a country with which it remains technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.
Human Rights Watch also condemned the sentence. "North Korea's sentencing of Otto Warmbier to 15 years hard labour for a college-style prank is outrageous and shocking, and should not be permitted to stand," Phil Robertson, deputy director of HRW's Asia division, said in an emailed statement.
Warmbier's defense attorney said the gravity of his crime was such that he would not be able to pay even with his death but proposed to the court a sentence reduced from the prosecution's request of a life sentence, KCNA said.
Warmbier was at the end of a 5-day New Year's group tour of North Korea when he was delayed at airport immigration before being taken away by officials, according to the tour operator that had arranged the trip.
Warmbier's parents could not be reached immediately.
North Korea has a long history of detaining foreigners and has used jailed Americans in the past to extract high-profile visits from the United States. It has previously handed down lengthy sentences to foreigners before freeing them. In 2014, North Korea released three detained Americans.
Ohio Governor John Kasich, who is also a Republican presidential candidate, called on North Korea to release Warmbier, saying his detention was
completely unjustified.
Image Courtesy: Reuters