US Court Rewards Otto Warmbier's Family $240K After American Student Died in North Korea due to Hard Labor

US Court Rewards Otto Warmbier's Family $240K as American Student Dies from North Korea After Release in Hard Labor — President Trump Addresses The Nation In His First State Of The Union Address To Joint Session Of Congress WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 30: Parents of Otto Warmbier, Fred and Cindy Warmbier are acknowledged during the State of the Union address in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives January 30, 2018 in Washington, DC. This is the first State of the Union address given by U.S. President Donald Trump and his second joint-session address to Congress. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Chip Somodevilla

A US court awarded the family of Otto Warmbier, the American student who died after being imprisoned by Pyongyang, $240,000 seized from a North Korean bank. Warmbier, who was jailed in North Korea for allegedly removing a propaganda banner from his hotel, died in a coma days after being returned to the United States.

Cynthia and Frederick Warmbier sued North Korea for their son's alleged torture and murder, and a US judge ordered Pyongyang to pay them $501 million in 2018. After North Korea's Korea Kwangson Banking Corporation failed to reply to a forfeiture order, Judge Lawrence Kahn of the Northern District Court of New York allowed the seizure of the cash last week.

Otto Warmbier's family receives $240,000

Otto Warmbier, an Ohio native and University of Virginia student, went on a tour to North Korea in 2016. At Pyongyang airport, he was separated from his party and charged with crimes against the state for allegedly removing a propaganda billboard.

Warmbier was hooked to a feeding tube and wailing with nonsensical noises when he returned home after 17 months, according to the 2018 verdict. The judgment stated that Warmbier had become blind and deaf, that his previously straight teeth had become crooked, and that his eyes had bulged out. Six days later, he passed away. At the time, North Korea blamed his ailment on botulism medication he was taking, according to South China Morning Post.

Otto Warmbier died around 2:20 p.m., according to a statement provided by his family. Warmbier has been undergoing treatment at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center in Ohio since his release from North Korean custody last week for humanitarian grounds following the intervention of the US Department of State, led by US Secretary of State John Kerry. Joseph Yun, Special Envoy for North Korean Policy.

Who is Otto Warmbier, the American student held in North Korea?

The Warmbier family blamed their son's death on the North Korean regime's treatment of him. According to the family's statement, his "torturous torture" in the hands of the North Koreans meant that no other conclusion was conceivable but the tragic one that occurred today. Otto was unable to talk, see, or respond to vocal directions when he returned, according to his family.

Otto exhibited no evidence of comprehending language, reacting to vocal orders, or being aware of his surroundings, according to Daniel Kanter, a neurologist who evaluated him earlier. Otto had severe brain tissue loss in all parts of the brain, according to Kanter, as per The Diplomat.

A University of Virginia student went on a hiking trip to North Korea. Warmbier was caught as he was about to leave for stealing a political sign from a hotel where he stayed on his trip. Warmbier confessed to stealing the propaganda poster as a prize for a member of his church who paid him with a $10,000 automobile a month and a half later. Later, it was revealed that Warmbier, like his suspected briber, was not a member of the church he mentioned.

Warmbier was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor on March 16 despite pleas for his release from the US State Department and Human Rights Watch, as well as a meeting with American envoy Bill Richardson, The Feed reported.