US citizen, detained in N. Korea for over a year, was just released -- little thanks to the gov't

Otto Warmbier, an American student detained and sentenced to hard labor in North Korea, has been released – but his family has just learned that he’s been in a coma for a year.

The 22-year-old reportedly fell into a coma January, 2016, which was the same month he was detained for trying to remove a propaganda poster from his hotel. North Korean authorities sentenced him to 15 years of hard labor.

Pat Gray and Stu Burguiere talked about the “disturbing” story on Tuesday’s “Pat & Stu.”

“Tragic story,” Pat said. “And I couldn’t believe nobody lifted a finger to help this kid.”

Warmbier contracted botulism, a toxin that paralyzes the nerves, while he was in North Korea, a source told CNN. He is on his way back to his parents in Cincinnati.

"We want the world to know how we and our son have been brutalized and terrorized by the pariah regime in North Korean,” his parents, Fred and Cindy Warmbier, said in a statement reported by CNN. “We are so grateful that he will finally be with people who love him."

To see more from Pat & Stu, visit their channel on TheBlaze and listen live to “Pat & Stu” with Pat Gray, Stu Burguiere and Jeffy Fisher weekdays 5–7 p.m. ET, only on TheBlaze Radio Network.