After only a one-hour trial on Wednesday, March 16, University of Virginia undergraduate student Otto Warmbier has been sentenced to 15 years of hard labor by North Korea’s Supreme Court. Warmbier was initially arrested in January of this year after he tried leaving the country with a political propaganda banner.
The exact charge carried out by North Korea’s highest court to Warmbier was “subversion,” which means “to cause the downfall, ruin, or destruction of [something],” accoriding to Dictionary.com. Before Warmbier’s trial, he told reporters in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang that he took the banner “as a trophy” for a mother’s friend.
(Warmbier speaks to reporters in Pyongyang, North Korea, onMonday, Feb. 29)
Considering the vast disconnect between the charge delivered upon Warmbier and his motivation for trying to smuggle the sign, it hardly seems that the punishment fits the crime. The United States Department of State has claimed Warmbier’s sentencing is “unduly harsh” and has taken measures to get the student released. In addition, officials from the organization Human Rights Watch have released a statement saying: “North Korea’s sentencing of Otto Warmbier to 15 years hard labor for a college-style prank is outrageous and shocking, and should not be permitted to stand.”
No-one is attempting to excuse Warmbier for his actions, because what he did was technically theft, after all. However, a 15-year sentence of not only prison time but also hard labor is extreme and vastly unwarranted.
It remains to be seen if the U.S. government can do anything in the way of either getting Warmbier released or at least getting his sentence reduced.
No further details on the case and/or trial have been released.
