Instead, Bruna Goldman was granted custody by a local court in Brazil. According to the United States Department of State and the Brazilian Central Authority, this decision was also a violation of the treaty. However, the Brazilian Central Authority which oversees the treaty is advisory only. As a result, David began the appeals process, which in Brazil can take years to complete.
In August 2008, Bruna died tragically in Brazil. After Bruna's passing, David Goldman assumed he would finally be reunited with Sean. Unfortunately, David finds himself in the midst of another custody battle, this time with Bruna's new husband, João Paulo Lins e Silva. Mr. Lins e Silva has also filed to replace David Goldman's name with his own on a birth certificate issued for Sean in Brazil, claiming socio-affective paternity which would effectively erase the child's true paternity.
Since 2004, David Goldman has fought a desperate and expensive legal battle for custody of his son, first with his wife and now against João Paulo Lins e Silva, a prominent lawyer specializing in international family law. Since the original abduction, David has never been permitted to see Sean and just this past October, Mr. Lins e Silva failed to make Sean available for a scheduled visitation with David and still has not been held accountable for violating a federal court order in Brazil. According to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, Sean should have been returned to the United States within six weeks of the abduction for a custodial hearing because his habitual residence had been established in the United States.
For more information on this tragic case and a list of additional ways you can help David Goldman, please visit http://bringseanhome.org/help.html.
I PLEDGE TO BOYCOTT ANYTHING RELATED TO BRAZIL (TRAVEL, PRODUCTS, FOOD) UNTIL SEAN GOLDMAN IS RETURNED SAFELY TO HIS FATHER DAVID GOLDMAN (USA) IN A TIMELY MANNER.
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