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Otto’s detention. Otto’s mother stated that,
‘‘we were told by all the government officials we met with that we should stay quiet
and not speak out against North Korea
because doing so would probably mean
that Otto would be punished for what we
said.’’ C. W. Decl. ¶ 19. In June 2017,
Joseph Yun, the former U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy at the
State Department, told Fred Warmbier
that North Korean representatives ‘‘won’t
release Otto’’ if the Warmbiers spoke to
the media about Otto’s detention. F. W.
Decl. ¶ 18. In sum, North Korea used
Otto’s detention to ‘‘control’’ the ‘‘dialogue
the whole time,’’ H’rg Tr. (Rough) at 82–83
(C. W.), and Otto’s parents were ‘‘[t]errified,’’ ‘‘afraid to TTT speak out or discuss’’
Otto ‘‘with anyone,’’ id. at 16, 23 (F. W.).
This same fear was shared by Otto’s siblings, id. at 45 (G. W.); F. W. Decl. ¶ 7, and
Otto’s friends, who also declined to speak
to the media about North Korea’s detention of Otto, H’rg Tr. (Rough) at 59–60 (C.
W.).
c.
Extrajudicial Killing
Next, North Korea’s treatment of Otto
amounted to an extrajudicial killing. Under
Section 1605A(h)(7), ‘‘extrajudicial killing’’
has the meaning given to it in the TVPA,
which defines an extrajudicial killing as:
a deliberated killing not authorized by a
previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court affording all the
judicial guarantees which are recognized
as indispensable by civilized peoples.
Such term, however, does not include
any such killing that, under international
law, is lawfully carried out under the
authority of a foreign nation.
28 U.S.C. § 1350 (note). ‘‘On its face, this
definition contains three elements: (1) a
killing; (2) that is deliberated; and (3) is
not authorized by a previous judgment
pronounced by a regularly constituted
court.’’ Owens, 864 F.3d at 770.
[21] As to the first element, the plaintiffs acknowledge that ‘‘the precise cause
of the condition that caused Otto’s death is
unknowable,’’ Pls.’ Mot. at 29, but there is
overwhelming evidence that North Korea’s
barbaric acts were a substantial factor in
causing Otto’s death. As the D.C. Circuit
has explained, ‘‘jurisdictional causation’’ is
evaluated under a ‘‘proximate cause’’ standard, which requires ‘‘some reasonable
connection between the act or omission of
the defendant and the damage which the
plaintiff has suffered,’’ such that the act
was a ‘‘substantial factor,’’ and the victim’s
injury was ‘‘reasonably foreseeable or anticipated as a natural consequence’’ of the
defendant’s act. Owens, 864 F.3d at 794.
Here, North Korea released Otto from
his detention with such irrevocable, extensive brain damage that this resulted in
Otto’s death. Kanter Decl. ¶¶ 9, 16, 21. Dr.
Kanter opined, ‘‘based on a reasonable degree of medical certainty,’’ that Otto ‘‘died
because of his brain injury,’’ which ‘‘was
caused by the sustained cessation of blood
flow to the brain, an injury occurring in
North Korea after the last video that was
released of him from his trial and sentencing.’’ Id. ¶ 21. After reviewing brain scans
taken when Otto returned and brain scans
from North Korea, Dr. Kanter opined that
‘‘the brain injury occurred in the weeks
prior to’’ an April 2016 brain scan taken in
North Korea. Id. ¶ 17. Dr. Kanter ‘‘diagnosed [Otto’s] brain injury as severe and
unrecoverable,’’ concluding Otto ‘‘could
have continued indefinitely with artificial’’
life support, ‘‘but he could not have lived
without that assistance.’’ Id. ¶ 20. As to
North Korea’s alternative public claim that
Otto died from botulism, F. W. Decl. ¶ 24,
Dr. Kanter’s team conducted on Otto an
‘‘electromyography study,’’ which tests for
‘‘neuromuscular junction dysfunction,’’ ‘‘an
important feature of botulism,’’ Kanter
Decl. ¶ 13. The test ‘‘was normal, indicat-