U.S. student Otto Warmbier, who was detained in North Korea for 17 months, died on Monday, leading Twitter users to react with both sadness and outrage.
Warmbier’s family announced that the 22-year-old University of Virginia student had died at a hospital in Cincinnati. North Korea released Warmbier last Tuesday, saying he was freed on “humanistic grounds.”
“Unfortunately, the awful torturous mistreatment our son received at the hands of the North Koreans ensured that no other outcome was possible beyond the sad one we experienced today,” Warmbier’s family said in a statement following his death.
His family has said that Warmbier fell into a coma in March 2016, shortly after he was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in North Korea. According to North Korean media, he was arrested for attempting to steal a poster that featured a propaganda slogan.
During a 2015 trio to China, the student signed up for a four-day New Year’s trip to North Korea. As the rest of his tour group departed from Pyongyang International Airport on Jan. 2, 2016, Warmbier was detained, The Washington Post reported. Two months later he showed up on North Korean TV confessing to stealing the poster from his hotel to bring home as a souvenir.
President Trump released a statement on Monday offering his condolences to Warmbier’s loved ones. “The United States once again condemns the brutality of the North Korean regime as we mourn its latest victim,” Trump said.
Among those reacting on Twitter to his premature passing was Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who posted a statement praising Warmbier as a “young man of exceptional spirit.”
Kasich continued, “This horrendous situation further underscores the evil, oppressive nature of the North Korean regime that has such disregard for human life.”
Read other tweets below.
Gov. John Kasich on the passing of Otto Warmbier:
More details: https://t.co/O58kfBhR8T pic.twitter.com/X63cBvjiLx— John Kasich (@JohnKasich) June 19, 2017
A sad end for the life of a spirited adventurous young man as Otto Wambier dies in Ohio. Unforgivable North Korea torture & brutality
— Andrea Mitchell (@mitchellreports) June 19, 2017
So sad for North Korea to send that Otto to die. They knew he would die in no time and only wanted him dead outside their territory RIP Otto
— Jacobs Odongo Seaman (@JacobsOSeaman) June 19, 2017
https://twitter.com/VicDeVille/status/876919231627055105
Trump was willing to bomb syria based off no real evidence when no americans were involved so lets see what he does about north korea
— Retired Hokage (@xtractartist) June 19, 2017
https://twitter.com/ModerateRachism/status/876917386183491585
https://twitter.com/hugh_atkinson/status/876910384199946240
https://twitter.com/jasonupton/status/876904935216078848
https://twitter.com/uvaburger/status/876914098990088192