The Washington Post slammed North Korea for its "horrendous mistreatment" of Otto Warmbier, a University of Virginia student who had been held prisoner.
In an editorial, the newspaper noted Warmbier was an "economics major with a bright future when he signed on for a short tourist trip to North Korea in December 2015. Not until Tuesday was he finally flown home to Cincinnati, gravely ill and reportedly in a coma."
"By his account, delivered at a scripted 'news conference' weeks after his arrest, Mr. Warmbier attempted a foolish, but harmless prank: trying (unsuccessfully) to pilfer a propaganda poster from the hotel where he was staying."
Warmbier had not been seen in public since he was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in March 2016.
The Post charged he was tried "on spurious charges and evidently subjected to horrendous mistreatment by North Korean authorities."
"This was outrageous behavior even by the standards of one of the world's most vicious and isolated regimes," the newspaper charged. "It should not go unpunished."
And it added: "The harm done to an innocent student is the result of North Korea's odious practice of seizing Americans to use as political pawns."
The newspaper called on President Donald Trump to push for the release of three other U.S. citizens being held by North Korea, including two who were working as teachers.
"The United States should also move quickly to step up sanctions on the regime of Kim Jong Un, which has been racing to develop missiles that can reach the United States with a nuclear warhead," the Post said.
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