Brazil repatriates woman linked to ISIS in Syria, Iraq
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Brazilian authorities confirmed on Wednesday the return of Karina Aylin Rayol Barbosa, 28, who spent nine years in areas once controlled by the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria and Iraq.
She is believed to be the only Brazilian national still alive who joined the extremist group.
Barbosa landed at São Paulo’s Guarulhos Airport on a flight from Damascus via Doha, accompanied by her seven-year-old son, born from her marriage to an ISIS militant.
Her repatriation was overseen by Brazil’s Federal Police and diplomats, and she was questioned before reuniting with her family.
Originally from Belém, in northern Brazil, Barbosa was a journalism student at the Federal University of Pará when she disappeared in 2016. Federal Police investigations later revealed she had traveled through Istanbul before entering Syria by land and settling in Raqqa, ISIS’ former stronghold.
In a statement, officials noted her conversion to Islam in Belém in 2014, after attending Arabic courses at a local mosque, where investigators believe she came into contact with international recruitment networks linked to ISIS.
During its peak between 2014 and 2017, ISIS controlled vast swathes of Syria and Iraq, imposing a brutal system of governance on millions of people. Thousands of foreign nationals joined the group, including women who were lured through online propaganda and mosque-based recruitment.
Barbosa’s case has reignited debate in Brazil over the reach of extremist networks and how a young woman from a Catholic family with no previous ties to Islam became involved with one of the most violent organizations in recent history.
Her future in Brazil remains uncertain, as she and her son are now under the supervision of federal authorities.