American tourist Jeffrey Fowle was arrested by North Korean authorities for leaving a Bible under a bin in the toilet at a club for foreign sailors, a source familiar with Fowle's case said.
During his 10-day trip to North Korea, Fowle's fellow travelers described the middle-aged street repairs worker from Miamisburg, Ohio, as a warm, amiable, quiet man.
On May 4, toward the end of an evening spent eating and drinking in Chongjin, a large industrial city on North Korea's east coast, Fowle's action led to him being thrown in jail, where he is awaiting trial in one of the world's most inhospitable countries.