Politics

Otto Warmbier’s Parents Blame Kim’s ‘Evil Regime’ For Son’s Death After Trump Denies Direct Blame

Otto Warmbier Reuters photo

Mike Brest Reporter
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The parents of Otto Warmbier, the American college student who died after being held in a North Korea prison, issued a statement on Friday following President Donald Trump’s defense of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

“We have been respectful during this summit process. Now we must speak out. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son, Otto,” Fred and Cindy Warmbier said in their statement. “Kim and his evil regime are responsible for unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity. No excuses or lavish praise can change that.”

Warmbier was arrested in 2016 for allegedly attempting to steal a propaganda poster in North Korea. The University of Virginia student was convicted and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. He returned home in June 2017 in a coma and died a week later. (RELATED: Here Are The 17 Prisoners Trump Has Freed Since He Took Office)

US President Donald Trump (L) speaks as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo looks on during press conference following the second US-North Korea summit in Hanoi on February 28, 2019. (MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP/Getty Images)

The Warmbier’s statement comes after Trump claimed Kim was unaware of how Warmbier was treated in prison. Trump made the claim during his trip to Hanoi, Vietnam for his second meeting with Kim.

The president said, “I did speak about it, and I don’t believe that he would have allowed that to happen — just wasn’t to his advantage to allow that to happen. Those prisons are rough. They’re rough places, and bad things happened, but I really don’t believe that he was — I don’t believe he knew about it.”

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