A 21-year-old University of Virginia student was busted for swiping a political slogan sign while visiting North Korea. He was arrested, run through a kangaroo court where he apologized for allowing the U.S. administration to, “lure him into” the heinous crime of stealing a sign to demoralize Korean workers, and then sentenced to 15 years of hard labor.
The Hill reports:
Otto Warmbier was visiting the country on a trip arranged by a Chinese travel organization called Young Pioneer Tours. The 21-year-old University of Virginia student was arrested on Jan. 2 as he was about to board a plane to leave the country.Warmbier admitted in a press conference last month to stealing a banner with a political slogan from his hotel in Pyongyang.”I committed the crime of taking down a political slogan from the staff holding area of the Yanggakdo International Hotel,” he said tearfully while reading from a statement. “I never, never should have allowed myself to be lured by the United States administration to commit a crime in this country.””I wish that the United States administration never manipulate people like myself in the future to commit crimes against foreign countries. I entirely beg you, the people and government of the [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea], for your forgiveness. Please! I made the worst mistake of my life!”Warmbier is not the first American in recent years to be convicted by the rogue state for “hostile acts.”Kenneth Bae was released after two years of a 15-year sentence, while Matthew Miller was released after less than a year of his six-year sentence.
In January, Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump praised North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un. “You gotta give him credit,” for wiping out his political opponents, Trump said.
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