经济学人下载:朝鲜 又一个受害者(1)

Asia
亚洲

North Korea: Another victim
朝鲜：又一个受害者

The tragic death of Otto Warmbier sharpens the diplomatic debate.
奥托·瓦姆比尔骇人听闻的死亡使得对朝政策辩论更为激烈。

“How safe is it? Extremely safe!”
"有多安全？非常安全！"

So read the guidance for North Korea on the website of a Chinese travel company when Otto Warmbier, a 21-year-old American student, signed up for a five-day trip in December 2015.
当21岁的美国学生奥托·瓦姆比尔在2015年12月签署了为期五天的旅行时，他在一家中国旅游公司的网站在阅读了有关朝鲜的旅游指南。

Mr Warmbier was arrested the next month at the airport in Pyongyang, as he was leaving, and accused of attempting to steal a propaganda placard.
瓦姆比尔于下个月在平壤机场正要离开时，却因被控告试图偷盗宣传广告牌而被当场逮捕

He was tried in March 2016, and sentenced to 15 years' hard labour.
他于2016年3月受审，并被判15年劳役。

“I have been very impressed by the Korean government's humanitarian treatment of severe criminals like myself,” he said during a televised confession.
他在电视讲话中说：“对于朝鲜政府对待像我这样的严厉罪犯采用的人道主义治疗方法，我印象非常深刻。”

The North Korean authorities denied access to Mr Warmbier after his trial.
朝鲜当局否认对瓦姆比尔进行过审判。

But on June 13th they released him, in a vegetative state, “on compassionate grounds”, after talks between the North's ambassador to the UN and America's point-man on the country.
但在6月13日，朝鲜当局与朝鲜驻联合国大使和美国的领头人物之间进行了会谈后，极其同情地释放了植物人状态的他。

He was flown home to Ohio, where he died six days later.
他被空运到俄亥俄州，六天后死亡。

Doctors said he was suffering from a catastrophic brain injury, probably sustained shortly after his trial.
医生说他遭受了灾难性的脑损伤，很可能是在他的审判后不久。

But the cause of the injury is unclear.
但造成伤害的原因尚不清楚。

The doctors could find no evidence either of the North Korean explanation—botulism, a food-borne disease—or of the obvious alternative, a severe beating.
医生们无任何证据表明朝鲜的解释是合理的，无论是食物中毒，食物传染病还是明显的传统方法——虐待殴打。

On past precedent, it seems likely that the harm done to Mr Warmbier was unintended.
在以往的先例上，对瓦姆比尔的伤害似乎是无意的。