Muslim Abuumar’s lawyer condemned the Brazilian authorities’ actions to deport the Palestinian and his family as a ‘politically-motivated‘ request from the U.S.

Brazilian authorities have deported a Palestinian man and his family after being alerted by the United States that a “Hamas operative” was travelling to the South American country.

Muslim Abuumar, along with his pregnant wife, son, and mother-in-law, were detained upon their arrival at Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos airport on Friday.

Two days later, they were put on a Qatar Airways flight back to Doha, police sources told Reuters.

“The request came from the U.S. Department of State,” a senior federal police officer said. “It was proven before a judge that [Abuumar] was deeply involved with Hamas.”

Initially, a federal judge in Sao Paulo had halted the deportation on Saturday to seek further information from the police.

Judge Milenna da Cunha stated that Brazilian federal police received an alert via the U.S. embassy indicating that “a Hamas operative, Muslim Abuumar” would be arriving in Brazil from Kuala Lumpur.

In her ruling, da Cunha cited Abuumar’s social media posts showing meetings in Doha with Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, as part of the rationale for approving the deportation.

Abuumar’s lawyer, Bruno Henrique de Moura, filed an injunction arguing that the Palestinian family was detained without a warrant upon entry at Guarulhos airport.

De Moura criticised the Brazilian police, saying they had “simply agreed to a U.S. request that was politically-motivated” based on Abuumar’s name appearing on the U.S. government’s terrorist watch list.

“The United States uses this list to make life difficult for pro-Palestinian activists,” the lawyer said.

The family maintained they were visiting Abuumar’s brother who resides in Brazil.

However, Brazilian police sources argued that Abuumar intended to stay in Brazil and become a spokesperson for Hamas. One anonymous source pointed to the substantial amount of luggage the family brought as evidence of their plan to stay long-term.

Samidoun, the Palestinian prisoner solidarity network, condemned Brazil’s decision to deport Abuumar and his family.

“Rather than exercising Brazilian law, under which Hamas (and all Palestinian resistance organisations) are not considered ‘terrorists,’ the Brazilian Federal Police immediately sought to implement this directive from the United States, the key funder, backer and full partner in the ongoing US-Zionist genocide in Gaza,” the network said in a statement.

Abuumar, 37, serves as the executive director of the Asia Middle East Center think tank. His lawyer’s injunction mentioned that his wife is Malaysian, and his children were born in Malaysia.

A police source said that Abuumar had previously travelled to Brazil last year, arriving on January 1, the day President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, otherwise known as Lula, began his new term.

President Lula advocates for a two-state solution regarding Palestine and has condemned Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip since October 7.

Since Brazil recognised Palestine in 1975, the Palestine Liberation Organization has maintained a representative in Brasilia.

In 2010, under Lula’s government, a Palestinian embassy was established in the Brazilian capital.