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U.S. Korean War veteran released by North says made 'confession' under duress
Source: Reuters
U.S. Korean War veteran released by North says made 'confession' under duress
LOS ANGELES Mon Dec 9, 2013 4:57pm EST
(Reuters) - An elderly U.S. Korean War veteran released from detention in North Korea said on Monday that his videotaped "confession" was given under duress, adding that he believed he may have been held in a misunderstanding over his interest in the war.
Merrill Newman, 85, said in a written statement he was kept under guard in a North Korean hotel and that his interrogator told him he would be sentenced to jail for 15 years if he did not cooperate.
"Anyone who knows me knows that I could not have done the things they had me 'confess' to," Newman said in the statement issued two days after he arrived at San Francisco airport on Saturday following his release from detention.
The Korean War veteran added that during the tourist trip that led to his detention, he had expressed interest in visiting some of those "who fought in the war" in the Mount Kuwol area and that the North Koreans "seem to have misinterpreted my curiosity as something more sinister."
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LOS ANGELES Mon Dec 9, 2013 4:57pm EST
(Reuters) - An elderly U.S. Korean War veteran released from detention in North Korea said on Monday that his videotaped "confession" was given under duress, adding that he believed he may have been held in a misunderstanding over his interest in the war.
Merrill Newman, 85, said in a written statement he was kept under guard in a North Korean hotel and that his interrogator told him he would be sentenced to jail for 15 years if he did not cooperate.
"Anyone who knows me knows that I could not have done the things they had me 'confess' to," Newman said in the statement issued two days after he arrived at San Francisco airport on Saturday following his release from detention.
The Korean War veteran added that during the tourist trip that led to his detention, he had expressed interest in visiting some of those "who fought in the war" in the Mount Kuwol area and that the North Koreans "seem to have misinterpreted my curiosity as something more sinister."
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/09/us-korea-north-newman-idUSBRE9B815120131209