Fred Warmbier said he feels „relief that Otto is now home in the arms of those who love him and anger that he was so brutally treated for so long.“
Appearing before reporters in the coat his son wore during his trial in North Korea last year, the father of Otto Warmbier said it was „bittersweet“ to have him home after being imprisoned by the hermetic regime for more than 17 months.
During a press conference in Ohio at Wyoming High School, from which Otto Warmbier graduated, Fred Warmbier said that he was relieved his son was „now home in the arms of those who love him“ but that he also felt „anger that he was so brutally treated for so long.“
Otto Warmbier, a 22-year-old University of Virginia student, was medically evacuated from North Korea and flown to Cincinnati late Tuesday. He was then transported to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where he is in a coma.
„I knelt down by his side, and I hugged him, and I told him I missed him and I was so glad that he made it home, “ Fred Warmbier said. „These things are tough to process, but he’s with us, and we’re trying to make him comfortable.“
Earlier today, University of Cincinnati Medical Center spokeswoman Kelly Martin told reporters, „Otto is in stable condition, but he has suffered a severe neurological injury.“ The hospital will provide an update on his condition at a press conference this afternoon.
Fred Warmbier said he and his wife, Cindy Warmbier, worked tirelessly for the release of their son, who he said was detained at an airport in Pyongyang in January 2016. Otto Warmbier visited North Korea as part of a tour organized by a China-based company.
After a one-hour trial in March 2016, Otto Warmbier was convicted of attempting to steal a propaganda poster and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor.
The North Korean regime deemed him a „war criminal“ and „brutalized and terrorized“ him during his detainment, his father said.
Fred Warmbier said his family doesn’t believe North Korea’s explanation that Otto Warmbier fell into a coma after contracting botulism and taking a sleeping pill shortly after his sentencing.
„Even if you believe their explanation of botulism and a sleeping pill causing a coma — and we don’t — there is no excuse for any civilized nation to have kept his condition a secret and denied him top-notch medical care for so long, “ he added.
Fred Warmbier revealed that President Donald Trump phoned him Wednesday night to ask about his son and the rest of his family. Warmbier said Trump was „very candid“ during the call and told him Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and other U. S. officials worked hard to negotiate Otto Warmbier’s release.
„It was a really nice conversation. It was kind, “ Fred Warmbier said. „To be honest, I had avoided conversations with him because to what end? I’m dealing with my son. But I did take the call, and it was gracious, and it was nice, and I thank him for that.“
Asked by a reporter whether he believes President Barack Obama’s administration could have done more to secure Otto Warmbier’s release, Fred Warmbier replied simply, „I think the results speak for themselves.“
