Rivas Enrolls Son in Spain Defying Judge's Order

Rivas Enrolls Son in Spain Defying Judge's Order

Juana Rivas’ legal team confirmed that her eleven-year-old son, Daniel, is now enrolled in a Spanish school and will celebrate his birthday "in the home where he wants to be." The Granada gender violence judge had ordered his immediate return to Italy with his father, Francesco Arcuri. The mother’s lawyers stated they are ignoring the ruling and that the boy will stay.

What the Granada Judge’s Ruling Says

The resolution orders the minor to return to Italy with his parent. The gender violence judge halts Rivas’ strategy and mandates repatriation. However, the mother’s legal team has already announced they are disregarding the decision and keeping the child. Some argue that prior enrollment proves the tactic was premeditated: bringing the child over during Christmas and refusing to send him back.

Some claim Arcuri knew what would happen yet allowed the minor to come. Others suggest the father had no choice: disobeying any court order, even a traffic fine, could have cost him custody. Commentators ironically note that the 1954 Hague Convention is treated as "toilet paper at the Ministry of Equality." Some assert that in Spain, child abduction laws seem to apply only to fathers, never mothers.

The Real Cost of a Legal Battle We All Pay For

The law firm handling the case is not cheap, staffed by former prosecutors, judges, and professors. Rivas is practically insolvent. She has no known employment beyond a municipal workshop in Maracena, set up by the socialist town council for her community service sentence after her initial conviction. A full breakdown of who pays what would require a separate report; the suspicion that taxpayers cover 100% of costs remains unrefuted.

The judge orders, the mother disobeys, the father pays. The older son already testified in a video recorded by Rivas herself; the younger brother, ten years old, refuted those statements before the Cagliari court, according to one participant. Precautionary measures requested were dismissed. The father’s custody rights remain intact.

Italian Prosecutor Reopens Case as Judge Loses Patience

A new prosecutor joined the case last autumn and decided to reopen proceedings. The Cagliari judge was furious that a newcomer corrected his work but agreed to reopen it to avoid conflict. Now, the judge issued an order warning Rivas of consequences if the child is not in Italy by the date stipulated in the parental responsibility agreement.

Politics has fully intervened. A Minister of Equality tweeted that institutions recognize the risk of Daniel living with his father and that forcing this constitutes violence. The tweet received 43 likes. Nothing else.

Children Caught in the Crossfire

The older son lived with his father since 2017. The younger did too until this Christmas. The older brother’s statements have left many uneasy. Others recall that the younger child denied these claims before child protection officials. They say the politicization of the case has done more harm than good.

Doubt remains about what will happen when the boy turns eighteen. Whether he settles accounts and spends them. Whether he leaves debts. Whether someone will ever explain that he was a pawn in a war that wasn’t his.