WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — President Donald Trump condemned North Korea's brutality in a statement mourning the death of Otto Warmbier, an American who was detained in the country for more than a year before being sent back to the United States in a coma.
"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," Trump said in a statement released by the White House.
"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," Trump said.
In March 2016, Warmbier was sentenced to 15 years in prison for trying to steal a political banner, an action that was classified by Pyongyang as a hostile act against North Korea.
The North Korean government agreed to release Warmbier on humanitarian grounds after he served more than one year of his sentence.
