Two Americans held in North Korea for “anti-state crimes” and “hostile acts” say they expect to be tried soon and are begging the U.S. for help, The Guardian is reporting .
Matthew Todd Miller and Jeffrey Edward Fowle have both been detained for over three months. In an interview with an Associated Press television crew – their first public appearance since their arrest – both men said they were in good health and were being treated well. As of this post, it is unclear if their remarks were coerced or if the men were truthful.
The younger of the two men, Matthew Todd Miller, is a 24-year-old from Bakersfield, California, according to Fox News . Not much is known, specifically, about what crime he’s alleged to have committed in North Korea, but according to reports, he arrived in the secretive country April 10th with a tourist visa, tore up his U.S. passport, and asked for asylum.
In his statement to the A.P., Miller said:
“I expect soon I will be going to trial for my crime and be sent to prison. I have been requesting help from the American government, but have received no reply.”
The older man is 58-year-old Jeffrey Edward Fowle from Miamisburg, Ohio, according to Huffington Post . He toured North Korea with a tour group and, according to anonymous sources, eventually wound up in the port city of Chongjin. There, at a bar for foreign sailors, Fowle is alleged to have left a bi-lingual Bible – a serious offense in a country that aggressively persecutes religion – with pictures of himself, and his phone number, interspersed among the pages. Three days later he was arrested.
In his statement, Fowle told the A.P. crew:
“The horizon for me is pretty dark. I don’t know what the worst-case scenario would be, but I need help to extricate myself from this situation. I ask the government for help in that regards.”
Another American citizen who has run afoul of North Korean authorities is Michael Bae, a missionary was convicted in 2013 of “hostile acts” and sentenced to hard labor. This Inquisitr article reports that Bae’s health has been deteriorating as a result of his punishment, and he continues to beg the U.S. for help.
The U.S. State Department strongly discourages Americans from travelling to North Korea. On its website, the State Department warns:
“Travel by U.S. citizens to North Korea is not routine, and U.S. citizen tourists have been subject to arbitrary arrest and long-term detention.”
Would you ever consider travelling to North Korea? Why? Let us know in the Comments.
Image courtesy of: MSN
