North Korea sentences U.S. student to 15 years hard labor

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anatta

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North Korea has sentenced an American student to 15 years of hard labor after accusing him of removing a political banner from a hotel.

The U.S. State Department fired back Wednesday, saying the punishment doesn't fit the alleged crime.

The sentence against University of Virginia student Otto Frederick Warmbier is "unduly harsh," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said, calling for his release.


e United States urges North Korea "to pardon him and to grant him special amnesty and immediate release on humanitarian grounds," Toner said.

Trial reportedly lasted one hour

Warmbier had traveled to Pyongyang on a trip organized by Young Pioneer Tours, a China-based travel company. He was arrested on January 2, 2016, as he was about to board a plane to leave the country, on the charge of committing a hostile act against the state.

The North Korean government alleged that Warmbier was encouraged to commit the "hostile act" by a purported member of a church in his home state of Ohio, a secretive university organization and even the CIA.

In court Wednesday, North Korean officials presented fingerprints, photos of a political banner and surveillance images -- proof, they said, that Warmbier committed crimes against the regime.

The 21-year-old student pleaded for mercy.

"My brother and my sister need me," he said. "I beg that you see that I am only human, how I have made the worst mistake of my life."

Warmbier was sentenced to 15 years hard labor


Emotional video confession


In an emotional press conference last month, Warmbier admitted to attempting to steal a banner with a political slogan from his hotel in the North Korean capital. It is not known whether Warmbier made the admission under duress.

Appearing to read from a statement, he said: "
I committed the crime of taking down a political slogan from the staff holding area of the Yanggakdo International Hotel."

"I never, never should have allowed myself to be lured by the United States administration to commit a crime in this country," he said tearfully as he begged for forgiveness.
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"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!"
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State Department: North Korea is politicizing arrests


The tour company he traveled with said on its website it is aware of his sentencing and that it should "be viewed in similar context of previous cases of Americans being sentenced" in North Korea.



Wednesday, the State Department spokesman accused North Korea of politicizing the arrests of U.S. citizens, saying, "It's increasingly clear from its very public treatment of these cases."

Kenneth Bae and Matthew Miller are the most recent American detainees whom North Korea has released.

Both were accused of perpetrating "hostile acts" against North Korea; Miller spent less than a year in custody after being sentenced to six years of hard labor, and Bae, facing a 15-year sentence, was held for nearly two years.

The pair secured their freedom in late 2014
Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson told The New York Times he met with two North Korean diplomats on Tuesday to lobby for Warmbier's release.

Richardson is a longtime diplomat and a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich has also been pushing behind the scenes for Warmbier's release, an aid to the governor told CNN.

Analysts say it's possible Warmbier will be released at some point, but very likely Kim Jong Un's regime could use the student as leverage -- and will want a VIP from the United States to travel to North Korea to get him.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/16/asia/north-korea-warmbier-sentenced/index.html
 
Goes to show you how stupid this younger generation is......he just had no idea who or what he was dealing with.....the boob should have know better that to even set foot in North Korea.
 
NOVA said:
Goes to show you how stupid this younger generation is......he just had no idea who or what he was dealing with.....the boob should have know better that to even set foot in North Korea.
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In a way it's so UVa. These kids are often full of themselves more than usual. Untouchable and immune.

And I cannot comprehend why anyone would go there. But will libs note how swell Marxism is?
 
Celticguy said:
Yeah they'll get what milage they can.
But how stupid is this kid ?
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NOVA said:
Goes to show you how stupid this younger generation is......he just had no idea who or what he was dealing with.....the boob should have know better that to even set foot in North Korea.
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The millennial prick is a decerebrate libtard.

I hope they keep them for the full 15.

It's not at all worth the state department bargaining with those gooks to get that piece of shit libtard back.
 
ChoppedLiver said:
The millennial prick is a decerebrate libtard.

I hope they keep them for the full 15.

It's not at all worth the state department bargaining with those gooks to get that piece of shit libtard back.
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Do you believe that white people are genetically superior to asian people?
 
Of course, the architects and supporters of Guantanamo Bay don't have even a sliver of moral justification for criticizing the judicial processes of any other country on earth.
That's what the USA abandoned ., Best keep shtum.
 
On the one hand, I want to say, "That's completely unreasonable. Fifteen years for stealing a flag is clearly a political sentence."

On the other hand, I want to say, "What did you expect, you idiot? You went to North Korea - a country that is hostile to your home country, a country known for handing down harsh sentences to its OWN people, let alone foreign nationals, a country where if you put even the tiniest portion of your pinky toe out of line you will wind up being a political pawn. What in the hell were you doing going on vacation to North M'er F'ing Korea in the first place? What, did you find out that Auschwitz stopped operations in the '40s so you couldn't go there instead?"

I really don't have any sympathy for this adult (he's not a kid, people, he's 21 years old), who should have easily known better.
 
Stelakh said:
On the one hand, I want to say, "That's completely unreasonable. Fifteen years for stealing a flag is clearly a political sentence."

On the other hand, I want to say, "What did you expect, you idiot? You went to North Korea - a country that is hostile to your home country, a country known for handing down harsh sentences to its OWN people, let alone foreign nationals, a country where if you put even the tiniest portion of your pinky toe out of line you will wind up being a political pawn. What in the hell were you doing going on vacation to North M'er F'ing Korea in the first place? What, did you find out that Auschwitz stopped operations in the '40s so you couldn't go there instead?"

I really don't have any sympathy for this adult (he's not a kid, people, he's 21 years old), who should have easily known better.
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You do realise he is part of a church group right?
Giving too much credit.
 
Rune said:
You do realise he is part of a church group right?
Giving too much credit.
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What kind of group he was with is frankly irrelevant.

Whether it's a church group or a pack of sensibly-dressed accountants, visiting North Korea on a holiday is stupid in and of itself. Stealing a flag while there is so far beyond stupid that even the stupidest of people (RacerX, Bobo, reason10 or philly rabbit, for example) would say, "Wow, he's really stupid."
 
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