Christ. A 21-year-old American uni student who tried to steal a propaganda poster from his hotel in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang has been sentenced to 15 years hard labour.
University of Virginia student Otto Frederick Warmbier was convicted after a one-hour trial for crimes against the state. According to state media, he was encouraged by the CIA, a secretive university group, and his church in Ohio to enter the country with the intent of “bringing down the foundation of its single-minded unity.”
He was arrested in January as he tried to leave the country, and last month appeared in a government-produced news conference to beg for forgiveness.
“I have made the worst mistake of my life, but please act to save me,” he said, sobbing. “Please. Think of my family.”
#breaking Sobbing UVA student Otto Frederick Warmbier detained in #NorthKorea ‘I made the worst mistake of my life’ pic.twitter.com/McjeSOPDnF
— Will Ripley (@willripleyCNN) February 29, 2016
It’s impossible to know what motivated Warmbier to attempt to steal the poster, since propaganda lies at the very heart of the North Korean government.
“There’s just not even the semblance of a relationship between a group of undergrads who get together to eat hummus and write nice things about people, and the CIA,” the member said. Touché.
International media is reporting that it’s “impossible” to tell whether or not Warmbier’s statement last month was genuine – which, okay, it *technically* might be – but read it yourself and make an educated guess:
“I committed the crime of taking down a political slogan from the staff holding area of the Yanggakdo International Hotel. I apologise to each and every one of the millions of the Korean people, and I beg you to see how I was used and manipulated. My reward for my crime was so much smaller than the rewards that the Z Society and the Friendship United Methodist Church get from the United States administration.
“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 DPRK, for your forgiveness. Please! I made the worst mistake of my life!
He also added that he was very impressed by the “humanitarian treatment of severe criminals like myself.” Um.
Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the allegations against him “would not give rise to arrest or imprisonment in the United States or in just about any other country in the world.”
“It is increasingly clear that the North Korean government seeks to use these U.S. citizens as pawns to pursue a political agenda.”
Source: CNN.
Photo: Will Ripley / Twitter.
