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title: Otto Warmbier ‘Fought to Stay Alive’ in North Korean Prison, His Father Says | TIME
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# Otto Warmbier ‘Fought to Stay Alive’ in North Korean Prison, His Father Says

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<!-- video src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/PgPlcR0L.m3u8" -->
## Video: Otto Warmbier ‘Fought to Stay Alive’ in North Korean Prison, His Father Says

[Watch (HLS stream): Otto Warmbier ‘Fought to Stay Alive’ in North Korean Prison, His Father Says](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/PgPlcR0L.m3u8) (1:48)

![Otto Warmbier ‘Fought to Stay Alive’ in North Korean Prison, His Father Says](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/PgPlcR0L/poster.jpg?width=720)

_Published 2017-06-15. The father of the comatose American college student released from North Korea’s custody said Thursday that his son “fought to stay alive” through the “brutality” and “terror” he endured while serving hard labor in a North Korean prison._


---

Jul 27, 2023 10:06 PM UTC

---

## More From This Series

[All Videos](https://time.com/video/)

[Otto Warmbier's Parents Target North Korean Assets in Bid to Hold the Government Accountable](/video/6KNAEJr7/)

### Otto Warmbier's Parents Target North Korean Assets in Bid to Hold the Government Accountable

[Otto Warmbier's Mom Says She'll Keep Speaking Out About North Korea's Human Rights Abuses](/video/uOXWygow/)

### Otto Warmbier's Mom Says She'll Keep Speaking Out About North Korea's Human Rights Abuses

[Otto Warmbier Dies After Being Released From North Korean Imprisonment, Family Says](/video/OvqAZBkG/)

### Otto Warmbier Dies After Being Released From North Korean Imprisonment, Family Says

---


## Transcript

I made a decision this morning to wear the coat that Otto wore when he was I don't know, a prisoner in North Korea. This is the coat he wore when he did his confession and I thought it was amazing performance. I'm proud of him. My wife Cindy is at Otto's side this morning, As she has been since the moment he returned to Ohio. She wanted me to tell you that she knows that Otto is a fighter, and she and I firmly believe that he fought to stay alive through the worst that the North Koreans could put him through in order to return to the family and community he loves. Last evening, we received a very nice phone call from President Trump, who told us that Secretary of State Tillerson worked hard To help bring Otto home.

We are extremely grateful for their efforts and concern. I would like to highlight this morning, the bittersweet feeling that my family has. Relief that Otto is now home in the arms of those who love him and anger that he was so brutally treated for so long. We went for 15 months without a word from or about Otto. It was only a week ago that we were informed that the North Korean government now claims he was in a coma for almost all of that time. Even if you believe their explanation of botulism and a sleeping pill causing the coma, And we don't. there is no excuse for any civilized nation, to have kept his condition secret and denied him top notch medical care for so long.

I call on them to release the other Americans being held. No other family should have to endure what the Warmbiers have.

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