38 356 FEDERAL SUPPLEMENT, 3d SERIES what North Korea wanted as a condition of his release. Id. at 67 (C. W.). Given the repeated cautions against speaking publicly, Otto’s parents were ‘‘[t]errified,’’ ‘‘afraid to TTT speak out or discuss’’ Otto ‘‘with anyone,’’ including their neighbors and friends. Id. at 16, 23 (F. W.); id. at 72 (C. W.). They had a ‘‘sixth sense’’ that ‘‘things were bad for Otto,’’ but what transpired was worse than they ‘‘could have imagined.’’ F. W. Decl. ¶ 27. Even Otto’s two younger siblings, Austin and Greta Warmbier, and Otto’s friends were fearful about speaking publicly due to the possibility that North Korea would punish Otto. H’rg Tr. (Rough) at 45 (Greta Warmbier (‘‘G. W.’’) ); id. at 59–60 (C. W.); F. W. Decl. ¶ 7. ‘‘[S]peaking out against North Korea would antagonize the country and prolong or worsen Otto’s detention.’’ F. W. Decl. ¶ 16. In this way, over the duration of Otto’s detention, North Korea ‘‘controlled’’ the ‘‘dialogue the whole time.’’ H’rg Tr. (Rough) at 82–83 (C. W.). Otto’s parents remained in the dark about the reason for Otto’s detention in North Korea until three weeks later, on January 22, 2016, F. W. Decl. ¶ 7, when the Korean Central News Agency (‘‘KCNA’’), North Korea’s state media outlet, Expert Decl. of David Hawk (‘‘Hawk Expert Decl.’’) ¶ 11, ECF No. 16-9, released an article stating Otto was ‘‘under investigation,’’ Decl. of Benjamin L. Hatch (‘‘Hatch Decl.’’), Ex. A (KCNA Article titled, ‘‘American Arrested for His Hostile Act Against DPRK’’), ECF No. 16-1. The article reported that Otto had been ‘‘arrested while perpetrating a hostile act against the DPRK,’’ having entered the country ‘‘under the guise of tourist [sic] for the purpose of bringing down the foundation of its single-minded unity at the tacit connivance of the U.S. government and under its manipulation.’’ Id. Then, on February 29, 2016, North Korea televised Otto reciting a prepared ‘‘confession’’ to ‘‘severe crimes against’’ the DPRK, that amounted to Otto allegedly taking down a poster with a political slogan supporting North Korea’s dictator, Kim Jong-Il, from a hotel’s staff-only area, at the behest of a church in Ohio and the CIA. Hatch Decl., Ex. B (Tr. of Otto’s ‘‘Confession’’); Hatch Decl., Ex. C (Video of Otto’s ‘‘Confession’’); see also Expert Decl. of Robert M. Collins (‘‘Collins Expert Decl.’’) ¶ 21, ECF No. 16-10. The preposterous ‘‘confession’’ was riddled with ‘‘totally bizarre,’’ ‘‘completely false’’ statements, F. W. Decl. ¶ 8, and malapropisms tied to North Korean cultural references that would not be used by an American, H’rg Tr. at 123–26 (Expert Prof. SungYoon Lee). In short, the ‘‘confession’’ was plainly coerced and ‘‘completely manipulated.’’ Id. at 18 (F. W.). Examples of the many untruths in the purported ‘‘confession’’ include: (1) Otto called his father’s company ‘‘Finishing Cincinnati Black Oxide,’’ but that company, in fact, is called ‘‘Finishing Technology,’’ F. W. Decl. ¶ 8; (2) Otto said he practiced for his alleged crime by stealing street signs at the University of Virginia and storing the stolen signs under his bed, H’rg Tr. (Rough) at 19 (F. W.); F. W. Decl. ¶ 8, yet his father never found any such stolen signs, let alone under Otto’s bed at Otto’s apartment, H’rg Tr. (Rough) at 19 (F. W.); F. W. Decl. ¶ 8; (3) Otto said he conspired with the Friendship United Methodist Church, which had assets of $ 42 million, even though Otto had no relationship with that church, was not Methodist, and the church has no such extensive assets, H’rg Tr. (Rough) at 19 (F. W.); F. W. Decl. ¶ 8; (4) Otto said he agreed to take the poster because he ‘‘ ‘desperately’ needed a car’’ and $ 200,000 to fund his two siblings’ college tuition, when Otto ‘‘had his own car