CINCINNATI (AP) – The Latest on the release of U. S. college student Otto Warmbier after months of detention in North Korea (all times local) : 5: 55 p.m. Former…
CINCINNATI (AP) – The Latest on the release of U. S. college student Otto Warmbier after months of detention in North Korea (all times local) :
5: 55 p.m.
Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson says there should be an investigation into what happened to an American college student who was imprisoned in North Korea and was returned to his home state of Ohio in a coma.
Otto Warmbier (WORM’-bir) was in a coma when he landed in Cincinnati late Tuesday. The 22-year-old University of Virginia student was taken by ambulance to a hospital. His parents say they were told he had been in the coma for more than a year.
A hospital spokeswoman hasn’t provided an update on his condition.
Richardson says it’s a “tragic situation.”
The Democrat and former U. S. ambassador to the United Nations credits the Department of State for working to get the student back home. But he says the U. S. government has to respond forcefully if it’s determined the student’s condition wasn’t disclosed “and he didn’t get proper treatment.”
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2: 50 p.m.
The parents of a college student released by North Korea after 17 months of detention are expected to discuss their son’s condition publicly.
Otto Warmbier was in a coma when he landed in Cincinnati late Tuesday night. The 22-year-old University of Virginia student was taken by ambulance to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
His parents, Fred and Cindy Warmbier, say they were told he had been in the coma for over a year.
A hospital spokeswoman didn’t provide an update on his condition. She says the parents plan a Thursday morning news conference. Fox News also is expected to air an interview with them Wednesday night.
Warmbier was serving a 15-year prison term with hard labor in North Korea. He tearfully confessed to trying to steal a propaganda banner while visiting.
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1: 20 a.m.
An American college student who was released from a North Korean prison is finally home but in a coma and undergoing treatment at an Ohio hospital.
An airplane carrying Ohio native Otto Warmbier landed in Cincinnati late Tuesday night. The 22-year-old was then taken by ambulance to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
Warmbier was serving a 15-year prison term with hard labor in North Korea for alleged anti-state acts.
In Warmbier’s hometown of Wyoming, just outside of Cincinnati, residents tied ribbons to trees and said news of his release had sent waves of shock and joy through the community.
The State Department secured Warmbier’s release at President Donald Trump’s direction.
A hospital spokeswoman says Warmbier’s family is expected to hold a news conference Thursday morning at Wyoming High School.
