Recent photos of student Otto Wombier in North Korea before his arrest and death

In the photos from his last trip to North Korea, 22-year-old American student Otto Warmbier is constantly laughing, drinking beer with friends, posing with locals and admiring the sights of Pyongyang. Behaves like an ordinary young and enjoying life guy, not even aware of the sad end.

On January 2, 2016, while boarding a plane, a student was arrested on charges of the DPRK authorities in an attempt to tear down a propaganda poster at a hotel where a tourist group spent the night. Otto was sentenced to prison and spent 17 months in a North Korean prison. Last week, he was released "on humanitarian grounds" and handed over to the United States in a coma. On June 19, Otto Wombier died in a Cincinnati hospital. American doctors have discovered a traumatic brain injury, which the student probably received while in prison in the DPRK.

Otto's friends, who were with him on the trip, stated that he did not tear down the poster at the hotel and was generally in bed on the night of the alleged theft, as they needed to sleep before an early flight. According to them, he had no reason to risk his freedom.

(14 photos in total)

Source: Daily Mail

One of the members of the tour group said: "The story with the poster appeared only a few weeks later. The North Korean authorities have provided video footage of not the best quality, which shows someone tearing a poster off the wall. And the fact that a person takes it with him is not on the video."

Otto Wombier's friends recall his "smile, infectious laugh and ability to love absolutely everyone."

Danny Gratton, Otto's roommate at the hotel, was with him at the airport when two security guards approached them. "They didn't say a word. They just came up, patted Otto on the shoulder and led him away without any explanation. I also made a nervous joke: "Well, this is the last time we see you." The terrible irony is that this happened."

"When Otto was returned on June 13, he could not speak, see or react to words in any way. He looked exhausted. However, although he did not speak, in just one day of staying at home, his face changed — it became peaceful. He was at home and we think he felt it."

According to the DPRK authorities, Otto Wombier had botulism, an acute infectious disease that he received in prison.

The student fell into a coma after a sleeping pill given to him by North Korean doctors. American doctors have not found evidence and traces of botulism. Wombier's family refused an autopsy.

The frame of the transfer of an American student.

Otto Wombier's funeral will take place on June 22 at the school where he studied.