An American college student was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in prison by the highest court in North Korea on Wednesday for attempting to steal propaganda materials from a private area of a hotel.
The undergraduate college student from University of Virginia, Otto Warmbier, was convicted on a subversion charge and sentenced Wednesday morning, according to a report.
The 21-year-old had been arrested by Korean authorities in January when he had moved to travel back to the U.S. Warmbier told reporters he had taken the banner “as a trophy” for the mother of a friend.
The student is one of a dozen Americans who have been arrested while visiting the aptly named Hermit Kingdom.
