Cindy Warmbier
# Cindy Warmbier

Cindy Warmbier is the mother of Otto Warmbier, an American student who died shortly after being released from detention in North Korea in 2017.

North Korea blamed Otto's condition on a combination of botulism and an unexpected reaction to a sleeping pill. A senior American official asserted that Otto had been subjected to physical abuse. Fred and Cindy appeared on Fox & Friends in September 2017, seeking aid from then President Trump, blasting the North Korean regime. In early November, Congress backed banking restrictions on North Korea, and later that month, Trump designated North Korea a state sponsor of terrorism, allowing for stricter sanctions.

In April 2018, the Warmbiers filed a lawsuit alleging that North Korea “brutally tortured and murdered” their son. In December 2018 a US District Court ruled that the Warmbiers were entitled to $501m in compensation. Since then, they have worked to highlight North Korea's human rights abuses, also publicizing criminal activities inside North Korean embassies worldwide.

