Otto Warmbier, American Student Held Captive in North Korea for 17 months, Has Died (VIDEO)

SOME THING MUST BE DONE TO MAKE NORTH KOREA PAY FOR THIS MURDER …

As reported at ABC News, Otto Warmbier, the 22 year old American student who was imprisoned in North Korea for more than 17 months and was just returned home to Ohio last week, has died. Warmbier, a University of Virginia undergraduate student, returned to the U.S. in a comatose state after North Korea released him for medical reasons last Tuesday. It is obvious that Warmbier died from his treatment that he received at the hands of North Korea, not the so-called botulism claimed by North Korea. Otto Warmbier’s doctors at University of Cincinnati Medical Center said last week that he had extensive brain damage dating back longer than a year. The Warmbiers thanked those who assisted in their son’s care back home in Cincinnati, Ohio, and condemned the North Korean regime.

VIDEO – NBC News

“It is our sad duty to report that our son, Otto Warmbier, has completed his journey home,” his family said in part in a statement. “Surrounded by his loving family, Otto died today at 2:20 p.m.”

Doctors from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center said last week that Warmbier, 22, was suffering from injuries related to cardiopulmonary arrest and was in a state of unresponsive wakefulness. Scans showed extensive loss in all regions of Warmbier’s brain, doctors said.

Warmbier, a University of Virginia student, was medically evacuated from North Korea and flown to Cincinnati late last Tuesday. He was then transported to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

On Monday, the family paid tribute to Warmbier in their emotional statement.

“It would be easy at a moment like this to focus on all that we lost — future time that won’t be spent with a warm, engaging, brilliant young man whose curiosity and enthusiasm for life knew no bounds,” the family’s statement continues. “But we choose to focus on the time we were given to be with this remarkable person. You can tell from the outpouring of emotion from the communities that he touched — Wyoming, Ohio, and the University of Virginia to name just two — that the love for Otto went well beyond his immediate family.”

The statement also thanked “the wonderful professionals at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center who did everything they could for Otto.”

“When Otto returned to Cincinnati late on June 13th he was unable to speak, unable to see and unable to react to verbal commands. He looked very uncomfortable — almost anguished. Although we would never hear his voice again, within a day the countenance of his face changed — he was at peace. He was home and we believe he could sense that.”

Statement by President Donald J. Trump on the Passing of Otto Warmbier:

Melania and I offer our deepest condolences to the family of Otto Warmbier on his untimely passing. There is nothing more tragic for a parent than to lose a child in the prime of life. Our thoughts and prayers are with Otto’s family and friends, and all who loved him.

Otto’s fate deepens my Administration’s determination to prevent such tragedies from befalling innocent people at the hands of regimes that do not respect the rule of law or basic human decency. The United States once again condemns the brutality of the North Korean regime as we mourn its latest victim.

UPDATE I: Tour group says no more Americans to North Korea after Warmbier’s death.

Really, this tour group is finally figuring this out now? The unlawful and ridiculous imprisonment of an American college student was not enough? The basic holding of a student as a hostage was not enough? It actually took the systematic torture and beating of an American college student resulting in his death to do it? UNREAL.

The travel company that took University of Virginia student Otto Warmbier to North Korea said Monday that it is wrangling with the 22-year-old’s death and will no longer take Americans to North Korea.

For years, Young Pioneer Tours has happily boasted: “We provide budget travel to destinations your mother would rather you stayed away from.” On Monday, after Warmbier’s family announced he’d died that afternoon at a Cincinnati hospital, the message that the China-based tour company sent via e-mail to USA TODAY wore a darker and more anguished tone.