Fred and Cindy Warmbier share disturbing details about their son, who was detained in North Korea for over a year and died soon after being released
The parents of Otto Warmbier, a young man who was detained in North Korea for more than a year and died soon after being released, said on Tuesday he was “jerking violently”, howling and “staring blankly” when he returned home on a medical flight.
The young man’s father, Fred Warmbier, also said his son, a 22-year-old University of Virginia student, had been tortured and that his mouth “looked like someone had taken a pair of pliers and rearranged his bottom teeth”.
Amid escalating tension between the Trump administration and North Korea, Fred and Cindy Warmbier appeared on the Fox & Friends morning TV show. Fred Warmbier said he and his wife decided to speak out after hearing North Korea claiming to be a victim.
“North Korea is not a victim,” he said. “They’re terrorists. They kidnapped Otto. They tortured him. They intentionally injured him. They are not victims.”
North Korea has denied mistreating the youth, who was sentenced to 15 years’ hard labor in March 2016 for allegedly stealing a propaganda poster while visiting as a tourist.
