The emotional roller coaster continues for David Goldman, father of Sean, the 9-year-old boy who was abducted to Brazil almost five years ago,
After writing on Tuesday that a Brazilian federal judge had ordered that Sean Goldman was to be taken yesterday by 2 p.m. to the U.S. Consulate in Rio de Janeiro to be reunited with his father, David Goldman, and returned to the United States, I sadly had to write yesterday:
It would have been the happy and honorable ending to a four year heart rending struggle by David Goldman to get his son back from those who have been keeping him against every legal, civilized, and moral rule and norm: the family of his former wife and her second husband, a lawyer from a prominent and powerful family in Brazil.
But it was not to be.
And I quoted the New York Times report that:
One day after a federal judge here ordered that a 9-year-old boy who was abducted by his Brazilian mother be returned to his American father, a Supreme Court justice stayed the order, extending a custody case that has reached the highest levels of the Obama administration and caused tension between Brazil and the United States.
David Goldman, who has been in Rio de Janeiro to be reunited with his son, called the Supreme Court stay “heartbreaking and disgraceful.”
This morning, news sources report that the Brazilian Supreme Court will be considering the case today and perhaps rendering a final decision.
Of course, David Goldman is hoping that the Court will rule that the abduction is in violation of The Hague Abduction Convention, and that Brazil, as a law-abiding nation, must honor its treaties and agreements.
U.S. Representative Chris Smith, from Goldman’s home state of New Jersey, who has been supportive of Goldman all along, had these words to say yesterday on the floor of the House of Representatives:
Child abduction is a serious crime that no legitimate government or self-respecting judicial body anywhere on earth should ever countenance, support, or enable. But the denial of fundamental justice in a child kidnapping of an American is exactly what has happened and is happening in Brazil today. The kidnapping case of Sean Goldman, now in almost its fifth year, raises serious and troubling questions concerning the Lula administration’s commitment to honoring its clearly defined international obligations.
Smith has introduced and been instrumental in the passage of resolutions in support of Goldman in the House, the Senate, and the New Jersey Legislature.
According to APP.com, these are additional words by a Representative who is doing one of the most important things a congressperson is elected for: looking out after the interests of his or her constituents:
It is outrageous that Joao Paulo Lins e Silva, a well-connected lawyer, who is not Sean’s father, continues to hold Sean…Even Brazilian court-appointed psychiatrists have said that with each passing day, Sean is being severely harmed by his continued abduction.
If a political party in Brazil wants to challenge Brazil’s accession to the Hague Convention it should do so without taking Sean Goldman hostage.
The Brazilian government must more fully understand that these reckless legal maneuverings with no finality in sight bring dishonor on its government. How long will President Lula allow this disgraceful charade to continue?
Let me be clear on this. Our argument isn’t with the Brazilian people, for whom I have deep affection and admiration. Many Brazilians have supported David Goldman’s quest for justice against two wealthy and politically powerful families that brazenly abuse their connections and exercise grossly undue influence over certain parts of the Brazilian judiciary.
Way to go, Congressman!
David Goldman said today on NBC, “I hope today is the day.” We are with you, David.
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.