The Brazilian family of Sean Goldman, 9, the American boy who was taken to Brazil by his mother when he was 4, announced today that they will accept the decision of Brazil's Chief Justice Gilmar Mendes, who ordered that the child be handed over to his US father, David Goldman.
Any eventual appeal would have to be heard by the 11 ministers that make up the Brazilian Supreme Court. The family's lawyer, Sérgio Tostes, however, denied that family Bianchi wants to continue the dispute: "The war is over," the lawyer said. "Now we should care about making this delivery transition as smoothly as possible."
Tostes told reporters he is going to talk this afternoon with representatives of the AGU (Union's Attorney General) to decide when Sean will be turned over to his father. "It's time we all come together to serve the best interest of the boy," added the lawyer.
Just yesterday the Bianchis had promised to use any possible legal avenue to keep the child. They seem to have changed their mind after indications by the Chief Justice that the court had said its last word. Tostes said he saw the writing on the wall and took Mendes ruling as an "indication of the Brazilian Justice on the case."
Minister Gilmar Mendes on Tuesday, restored the decision of the Federal Court (TRF) of the 2nd Region in Rio de Janeiro, which determined that the boy be taken to the American Consulate in Rio in 48 hours. The latest ruling annulled the decision last week by Justice Marco Aurélio Mello, who had ordered the stay of the child.
Sean went to Brazil in 2004 when his mother Bruna Bianchi decided to take what was supposed to be a two-week holiday trip. Bruna, however never returned to the U.S.
She divorced David in Brazil without his consent and later married Brazilian lawyer João Paulo Lins e Silva. She ended up dying last year, in August, during the birth of Chiara, her daughter with Lins e Silva. Since then, Goldman and Lins e Silva have been fighting for custody of the boy.
