17 Mar 16
Originally posted by sh76I'm a little surprised at the hostility towards Warmbier; after all, he was a tourist on a 5 day trip not a defector. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-student-arrest-idUSKCN0V1063
No sympathy.
I do have sympathy for people born there. They have no choice.
This idiot knew exactly what he was getting himself into. He broke the laws of the country he intentionally entered and now he's stuck with the consequences. Are the consequences insane? Sure. But he made his own bed.
He also seems to have been singled out for particularly harsh punishment because he was a US citizen and was allegedly forced to confess to US government involvement in his rather sophomoric crime (which would almost certainly not gotten him any jail time in the US, never mind 15 years at hard labor):
"I never, never should have allowed myself to be lured by the United States administration to commit a crime in this country," he said tearfully as he begged for forgiveness.
"I wish that the United States administration never manipulate people like myself in the future to commit crimes against foreign countries.
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/16/asia/north-korea-warmbier-sentenced/index.html
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17 Mar 16
Originally posted by FishHead111Sympathy aside, and I feel it; he's a bargaining chip. The 15 yer sentence is to get the US's attention that a lot will be needed to get him sprung. From that perspective the damage he did was to US interests.
15 years for stealing a banner worth a maybe a dollar or two?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMSF18gz9KI
Anyone that goes to North Korea to be cool deserves what they get.
Another liberal college student that will come back loving the west and capitalism.
When he's almost 40.
17 Mar 16
Yeah the US will bargain for his release, we'll offer them some sort of concessions to get him back.
Probably.
Or they may just keep him for the full 15 just to be dicks.
China did it to a young American they kept for 20 years, he was released in 1973 , don't recall the specifics, I believe he was charged with dropping seditious leaflets or some such.