2 Americans to US: Free Us From North Korea

Jeffrey Fowle, Matthew Miller fear lengthy imprisonment
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 2, 2014 4:58 PM CDT

A pair of Americans detained months ago in North Korea have a message for Washington: Help us get home. Jeffrey Fowle, 56, and Matthew Miller, 24, haven't been seen since they were detained, on separate occasions, by Pyongyang, but they were recently allowed to speak to the AP in an undisclosed location. They say their trials for "anti-state crimes" are likely to occur soon, and without assistance from the US, they could be in for a long period behind bars.

Miller says he's been "requesting help from the American government, but have received no reply." Fowle notes that "the horizon for me is pretty dark," the AP reports. "I don't know what the worst-case scenario would be, but I need help to extricate myself from this situation." A letter apparently by Fowle included in the video says he was arrested over a Bible left at a tour site, the Telegraph reports. Missionaries have often been detained in the past, the BBC notes, but Fowle's family says he wasn't on a church mission, the AP reports. Another American, Kenneth Bae, who's been held since 2012, recently described feeling "abandoned" by the US, the AP notes. (More detainees stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X