World

Family of Otto Warmbier awarded $500 million in lawsuit against North Korea

Sarah Brookbank

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USA TODAY•December 24, 2018

Parents of Otto Warmbier, Fred and Cindy Warmbier are

CINCINNATI — The family of Otto Warmbier, the Ohio man who died after being imprisoned in North Korea, has been awarded $500 million in a lawsuit against the country.

Fred and Cindy Warmbier of the Cincinnati suburb of Wyoming, Ohio, requested $1.05 billion in punitive damages and about $46 million for the family's suffering in a motion filed in October in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.

On Monday, Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the family had established its right to relief, granting the motion for default judgment but not for the full amount. 

"We put ourselves and our family through the ordeal of a lawsuit and public trial because we promised Otto that we will never rest until we have justice for him," the family said. 

► Dec. 17: North Korea warns U.S. sanctions could block denuclearization 'forever'
► Dec. 10: U.S. imposes new sanctions on three North Korea officials
► June 12: Analysis: When Trump met Kim, handshake was more historic than words

Howell ruled that North Korea was liable for the torture, hostage taking, and extrajudicial killing of Otto Warmbier and the injuries to his mother and father. Howell's opinion opened with a mother's anguish.

“What the heck did you do to my kid?” Cindy Warmbier testified in a Dec. 19 hearing, the opinion said. 

"An American family, the Warmbiers, experienced North Korea’s brutality first hand when North Korea seized their son to use as a pawn in that totalitarian state’s global shenanigans and face-off with the United States," court documents said. "Having been compelled to keep silent during Otto’s detention in North Korea in an effort to protect his safety, Otto’s parents have since promised to 'stand up' and hold North Korea accountable for its 'evil' actions against their son."

Howell said the estate of Otto Warmbier is entitled to $21 million in compensatory damages and $150 million in punitive damages. Fred and Cindy Warmbier also are entitled to $15 million in compensatory damages and $150 million in punitive damages.

Otto Warmbier, 22, traveled in December 2015 to North Korea on a tour. As he was about to leave in January 2016, North Korean authorities arrested him, accusing him of committing a "hostile act" that threatened the "single-minded unity" of the country's citizens.

North Korean officials alleged he acted at the behest of a church in Ohio — which he didn't attend — as well as the CIA, the motion states. He was charged and convicted in a show trial of stealing a poster from a hotel.

A month later, all communication ceased. 

Otto Warmbier spent a year and a half imprisoned. 

► June 12: Trump on Otto Warmbier: 'Otto did not die in vain'
► May 2: Trump hints at release of American prisoners held in North Korea

The Warmbiers had been nervous about their son's trip to North Korea. Otto Warmbier, then 21, was a University of Virginia student.

"Otto had an 'open mind' and 'wanted to explore,' and he viewed the trip to North Korea as an opportunity to experience a different culture and way of life," court documents said. 

The Latest: Guatemalan official identifies boy, 8, who died

Associated Press•December 25, 2018

FILE - In this Jan. 25, 2017, file photo, an agent from the border patrol, observes near the Mexico-US border fence, on the Mexican side, separating the towns of Anapra, Mexico and Sunland Park, N.M. An 8-year-old boy from Guatemala died in government custody early Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2018, U.S. immigration authorities said. (AP Photo/Christian Torres, File)

HOUSTON (AP) — The Latest on the death of an 8-year-old boy from Guatemala who U.S. officials say has died in government custody (all times local):

6:30 p.m.

A Guatemalan official says he was told by the father of an 8-year-old boy who died in U.S. custody that the two had been traveling from their home in the Central American country to Tennessee, and that his son had been in "perfect health."

Oscar Padilla, the Guatemalan consul in Phoenix, also confirmed Tuesday that the boy's name was Felipe Gomez Alonzo.

The consul says he interviewed the father, 47-year-old Agustin Gomez, by telephone.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection says the boy died shortly after midnight on Christmas.

CBP says the boy was taken Monday with his father to a hospital in Alamogordo, New Mexico, where he was diagnosed with a cold and a fever, and released.

The agency says the boy was returned to the hospital Monday evening with nausea and vomiting. He died hours later.

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This story has been corrected to show that the first name of the boy who died is Felipe, not Felix.

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12:20 p.m.

U.S. immigration authorities say an 8-year-old boy from Guatemala has died in government custody, the second immigrant child to die in detention this month.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection says the boy died shortly after midnight Tuesday.

CBP says the boy showed "signs of potential illness" Monday and was taken with his father to a hospital in Alamogordo, New Mexico. There, CBP says, he was diagnosed with a cold and a fever. He was given medications and released Monday afternoon.

The agency says the boy was returned to the hospital Monday evening with nausea and vomiting. He died just hours later.

A CBP spokesman declined to elaborate Tuesday, but said details will be released shortly.

A 7-year-old Guatemalan girl died earlier this month after being apprehended by border agents.