Custody battle splits Spain

Court drama sheds light on the scourge of domestic abuse

BARCELONA: A bitter court battle has ignited uproar in Spain, shedding light on the scourge of domestic violence after a convicted wife beater won custody of his two children and their mother was slated for child abduction.

More like a soap opera than a court case, the saga has split opinion in Spain, a predominantly Catholic country at the heart of Europe that struggles with 21st-century gender reform.

The story began when an Andalusian woman was ordered to hand custody of her children to her violent ex-husband, who had previously been jailed for abusing her.

Juana Rivas (pic), 36, took her two young children back to

Spain from the family home in Italy last year, without the consent of her Italian ex-husband, Francesco Arcuri.

Upon her return, she filed a domestic abuse claim.

However, a Spanish court ordered her to hand over the children, three and 11, to their father at the end of July.

The court in Granada said the first born was evaluated by psychologists and would not be affected by seeing his father.

Rivas was due back in court in August, but in a dramatic turn of events, she went into hiding for nearly a month – with her two children in tow.

Women’s rights group across Spain condemned the court’s decision and a social media storm ensued.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy voiced support for the missing Rivas, as did several high-profile female politicians. But they faced steep opposition in high places.

The court’s decision was defended by Jueces para la Democracia, a pro- fessional association for lawyers, which said it had “carried out a diligent and proportionate action”.

Rivas subsequently came out of hiding, reappeared in court and the children returned to Italy with their father. She is now being investigated by the Spanish judiciary for the alleged crimes of child abduction and disobeying a court order.

The children live with their father on the small Sicilian island of San Pietro and have limited contact with their mother via phone and video chat, pending resolution of the saga.

The court in Granada has told Rivas the Italian authorities must now make any decision concerning custody of the children.