The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org. June 20, 2017 Student Otto Warmbier Dies, Following 17-Month Imprisonment in North Korea -------------------------------------------------------------------------- University of Virginia student Otto Warmbier has died, a week after he was released from a North Korean prison and returned to the United States in a coma. On Monday, Warmbier's family said in a statement, "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 was imprisoned for more than 17 months for trying to steal a propaganda sign at a North Korean hotel. North Korea claims Warmbier fell into a coma after contracting botulism and taking a sleeping pill. But American doctors said they found no evidence of the illness in his system. .