The father of the American student left comatose after 18 months in a North Korean prison has criticized former President Barack Obama for not doing enough to free his son. “The question is, ‘Do I think the past administration could have done more?’ ” Fred Warmbier, Otto Warmbier’s dad, said at a press conference in Ohio on Thursday. “I think the results speak for themselves.”
He said he appealed to government officials, from members of Congress to former Secretary of State John Kerry, to help free his 22-year-old son, who was jailed for removing a propaganda poster in 2016. Fred said he was told to stay quiet so as not to “upset” the North Koreans. “We relied on this false premise that they would treat Otto fairly and let him go,” he said. He noted that President Trump called him this week and said, “I’m sorry about the outcome.”