Brazilian woman experiences anguish after new failed attempt to get her son back in Egypt Brazilian Karin Rachel Aranha Toledo has been fighting for 3 years and 9 months to see her son, Adam, taken by his father to Egypt without her permission. Even with a court order for the child to be returned and an arrest warrant for the man, the saga remains unresolved. The third attempt to search for Adam, carried out on May 12, ended again without success and deepened the anguish of the mother, who is from Campinas (SP). “I just want to be a mother to my own child”, she says. “I have everything on paper… and they just turn a blind eye to me,” Karin told g1. In addition to the frustration of not getting the child back, Karin reports that she has been threatened. Last week, she was taken by the Revibra institution to Belgium, where she will remain indefinitely. According to her, the threats were made over the phone and, in some, she heard that she would never see her son again. 🔎 The case began in September 2022, when the father took the boy, then aged 4, from Brazil to Egypt without authorization. Since then, Karin has not seen her son again and has started an international dispute to try to get him back. ➡ In Brazil, the Federal Court of Campinas (SP) ordered the father's preventive arrest in 2023 and he was included on Interpol's wanted list. Karin moved to Egypt to follow the process and obtained a favorable decision: in November 2025, the Egyptian court granted custody of the boy to his mother — a decision that has not yet been fulfilled. ✅ Click here to follow the g1 Campinas channel on WhatsApp The Egyptian court also ordered the arrest of her father and paternal grandmother for seven days for failing to comply with the order, and Karin's defense requested an increase in the sentence to six months. In situations like this, Itamaraty acts through consular assistance and diplomatic dialogue with the country where the child is. However, there is no power to enforce foreign judicial decisions — especially when the country is not part of international agreements on the subject. 'I'm living hell on earth' Brazilian Karin Rachel Aranha Toledo, from Campinas (SP), is trying to recover her son, Adam, who was taken without authorization by his father to Egypt since 2022. Bárbara Camilott/g1 | Reproduction/Social media Karin claims that she has already spent more than 10 thousand dollars on lawyers in Egypt and says that, despite the favorable decisions, she is unable to enforce the order. “I have had custody since November 26, 2025. Everything the lawyers could do, they have already done,” he stated. According to her, the searches follow a pattern: "They remove all traces of Adam from the house. When we arrive, they say he's not there." In the most recent attempt, Karin reports difficulties since executing the court order. She claims she waited hours for the documents to be released and criticizes local driving. The Brazilian defends that the case should no longer be handled solely by the region's police station and calls for the action of a broader force. "What we are asking is to call national security, because only then would there be more strength. As it is, the child will not be located," he said. Karin also reported that she feels threatened and helpless. "I'm feeling cornered. Alone, without support. I have everything going for me, in Brazil and in Egypt, and it seems like I'm the wrong one in the story", she said. "I'm living hell on earth. No mother deserves to go through this," said Karin. After 3 years and 9 months, she describes extreme wear and tear. "I did everything in my power. I feel like a failure. It feels like I'm dying on the beach, and no one cares," she said. Understand the legal obstacles Adam was taken by his father to Egypt without his mother's permission in 2022. Personal file The Hague Convention on International Child Abduction is an international agreement that establishes mechanisms for the return of minors illegally taken to another country. Brazil is a signatory, but Egypt is not — which prevents the automatic application of the treaty and makes cooperation difficult. In these cases, an alternative is the Malta Process, which seeks to bring together countries that are part of the convention and those that are not, creating channels for dialogue and mediation. Another central point is sharia, a legal system based on Islamic law, adopted in countries such as Egypt. In this model, there are differences in the roles assigned to men and women and in the way custody is defined, which can impact decisions and, mainly, execution. Limits and activities of Itamaraty According to Rodrigo Meira, general coordinator of International Adoption and Abduction of Children and Adolescents, Brazil's actions have limits and must respect the sovereignty of the country where the child is. “Brazil tries to comply with the convention in the best possible way, but legally we cannot do much when the country is not part of it”, he stated. According to him, in these cases, the possible path is dialogue. “The Malta process is the main instrument to bring countries closer to the convention with those that are not, including those with different legal systems, such as sharia”, said the general coordinator. Meira highlighted that, even when there is a decision in favor of the mother, compliance may face local obstacles: “There are cases in which Brazilian mothers have obtained custody, but enforcement faces difficulties within the country itself”. According to him, Itamaraty works with negotiations, attempts at mediation and opening channels with foreign authorities. “We need to talk, understand how their legal system works and seek compliance with decisions,” he stated. While the impasse persists, Karin remains in Egypt trying to find her son: “I just want the minimum: to have my son back”. VIDEOS: everything about Campinas and the region A See more news from the region on g1 Campinas.