Doctors: Ex-North Korea detainee has severe brain damage

Doctors at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center said Thursday that released North Korean detainee Otto Warmbier suffered extensive brain damage, but said the 22-year-old U.S. college student doesn’t currently show signs of botulism.

“Tests did not reveal any evidence of active or chronic denervation or any repetitive stimulation that would suggest active botulism at this time,” Dr. Brandon Foreman said at a press conference.

{mosads}”He shows no signs of understanding language or responding to verbal commands,” another doctor said.

The assessment comes after North Korea’s state news agency reported the government had released Warmbier on humanitarian grounds.

The University of Virginia student’s parents were told he has been in a coma for about a year, and that he had contracted botulism, which causes paralysis.

Warmbier, who arrived in Cincinnati on Tuesday, was found guilty of committing a hostile act against the North Korean regime in March 2016 and sentenced to 15 months of hard labor.

His father criticized the Obama administration on Thursday for the handling of his son’s imprisonment.

“We relied on this false premise that they would treat Otto fairly and let him go,” Fred Warmbier said.

“We knew the dynamic was changing and, honestly, nothing was happening in our world for Otto, no communication, no letter, nothing.”

The elder Warmbier added that he never had a face-to-face meeting with President Obama.