User:Geo Swan/Varvara Karaulova

Varvara Karaulova is a Russian student who was tried for trying to travel to Daesh occupied Syria, to marry a jihadi fighter. Karaulova made two attempts to cross the border between Syria and Turkey in 2015 and 2016.

Karaulova was a philosophy student at Moscow University, when she corresponded with a jihadi fighter, online. She is reported to have fallen in love with him, and converted to Islam. According to the Toronto Sun, Karaulova tried wearing sexy lingerie in her online chats with her correspondent, to win his love. They repeated speculation that the jihadi's real goal was not to seduce her, but to recruit her to become a suicide bomber.

Karaulova did not face charges in 2015, the first time Turkey returned her to Russia. She appeared to cooperate with Russian officials who were trying to trace and counter her Daesh recruiter. However, she remained in clandestine contact with him, and did face charges after her second attempt to join him.

During her trial Karaulova testified that she was jealous of other women Samanov was corresponding with. She testified that during a two month period when they weren't in correspondence she entered into an "online marraige" with another jihadist in Syria, but that after she reconciled with Samanov she decided the online marraige didn't count.

During her trial Karaulova testified that her decision to pack sexy lingerie, for her travels, showed that she was traveling for love, not jihad.

Karaulova received a four and a half year sentence, in 2016. She was granted parole and given early release in April 2019.