Brazilian citizen Karina Aylin Raiol Barbosa, 28, has been imprisoned since 2019 along with her young son in Kurdish detention camps in northeastern Syria, accused of involvement with the Islamic State. A former journalism student at UFPA, she converted to Islam and traveled to the Middle East in 2016, where she married jihadists and lived in ISIS-controlled territories. Since the fall of the caliphate, Karina has been held in several camps under harsh conditions, including solitary confinement, and reportedly attempted to escape recently. Despite repeated pleas from her family and reports of human rights violations, the Brazilian government has provided no effective assistance and remains unaware of her exact location. Karina and her son face serious and imminent risks to their lives.
This report served as a warning about cases of international human trafficking and alienation by extremist groups via the internet. Karina's story drew attention to these important issues.
