Spain reduces sentence for mother convicted of child abduction

The Spanish Supreme Court on Monday reduced the prison sentence for child abduction of Juana Rivas, whose custody battle had caused a stir in the country.

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The highest Spanish court "

", as the had established the sentence of first instance. This confirmation of Juana Rivas' conviction implies that she will have to serve her sentence. Juana Rivas had traveled to Spain in May 2016 with her two children and had not returned to Italy where her companion lived, who had their provisional custody. "

" when a court ruled in favor of her companion, the Court recalled. This court had ordered her to hand over the children to her, which she did nothad done that a month later.

The fight for custody of children between Juana Rivas and her companion Francesco Arcuri, whom she accused of having beaten her in the past, had caused a stir in Spain, where the fight against gender-based violence is a priority. Some criticized the mother for refusing to obey the court ruling. Others supported her on the contrary, stressing that Arcuri had already been convicted of domestic violence against Juana Rivas in 2009. The Granada court, which pronounced the sentence in the first instance, took into account the conviction of 'Arcuri for beating Rivas after an argument, but recalled that the couple later reconciled and moved to Italy, where they had their second child. In her 2016 complaint, Ms. Rivas claimed to have lived through hell in Sardinia,saying that his companion "

”and that the children, especially the older one, had“

”.

But a court-appointed psychologist who examined the child said he found no evidence of trauma from such violence.

The court concluded that there had been no more violence since the 2009 episode.