I agree with Andre, what the AGU asked for (that I referred to as bold) was extremely unlikely to have been indicated. What the Judge did was very typical (agree "wrongful removal", serve TP, sieze all (Brazilian, US & Israeli Passports, abductor and children) documents, order not to relocate, order to respond w/in (x) days). From what you have told us about dates, I would not be at all surprised if this has already happened; her Attorney has probably submitted her response to Brazil/ BCA/ AGU civil charges against her. According to me, you need to be burning-up the phone lines to DoS-OCI and pressuring them daily to get you the information out of the BCA/ AGU. They (OCI/ BCA/ AGU) are overworked and understaffed; be polite and persistent ... squeaky wheel gets the grease and their is no policy against what you are asking; you'd be asking them to do their job.
Don't give up! I've been bashed a bit about being hopeful but it won't work. I think you stand a better chance in Sao Paulo Federal Court than Rio; should not be but may be.
It's extremely hard to talk to the DOS-OCI and the BCA-AGU don't want to talk to me. It took me about a month to get these 2 documents, the BCA initially told me they could not send me the preliminary decision. They do not want to send any other documents or tell me what is going on with the case.
Is this a way to conduct a fair trial? For more than a year the DOS-OCI had me under the belief that there was no ongoing Hague process, and that the BCA had rejected my application. One day I sent an email to the BCA just to check if there was anything going on, and they responded by saying that a preliminary decision had been issued and the passports had been taken. Everybody in the USA was completely surprised with that response, starting with the DOS-OCI who had no idea there was a process going on in regards to my children's case. From what I know, the DOS-OCI had already classified this case as non-compliance by Brazil. And then it took about a month to get these 2 documents, which the BCA initially did not want to send.
Is this a way to conduct a fair Hague process? Emotionally, expect some false allegations from the TP. Financially and emotionally, budget for a trip to Brazil.
Smadar Hameiry has already stated in all previous documents that the reason she left is because her tourist visa had expired. This allegation has already been proven to be false simply by showing the relevant immigration documents.
About the trip to Brazil, I have been told by many people that I cannot go to Brazil for any reason until the Federal Court has issued a final judgment ordering the return of the children and stating that I can travel to Brazil and pick them up. Many people have told me that if I go to Brazil before this happens, that I could be arrested and forced to pay child support for my abducted children and sign over custody to my ex-wife. What is your opinion about this? It is early in the process at the first level of Federal Court. Too early to give up hope, way too early to mediate w/ TP ... and besides the Courts have the passports now. When I said she did not fear a return I did not mean she did not fear what would happen if she were returned; what I meant is she thinks Brazil is a safe haven for her and her ilk. If this unfolds as I described above, during the hearing/ deposition stage they quite possibly will ask your respective Attorneys to conduct a mediation ahead of the Court ruling. I think initiating mediation now weakens your position and she does not feel threatened at this point to negotiate. My opinion ...
The children were abducted on March 20, 2007, more than 2 years ago. At this rate, when will the process be completed, after 6 years? At that point in time the children will have already been so brainwashed that they will probably not want to come back. And if they come back, I'm not so sure they will be able to readjust. This is precisely why the Hague Convention gives the 6-weeks timeframe, to avoid this type of psychological problems.
The reason why I made this proposals is to try to expedite the return of the children by convincing Smadar Hameiry that it's in her best interest to return the children. The offer I made is the best offer a woman could get in Florida in a standard divorce, that is, a divorce where a woman did not abduct her children to Brazil and prevented them to communicate with their father for more than 2 years. In Florida she will have the children most of the time, and I will also pay her money. This solution appears to be really bad for me, but I want to see my children, and more importantly, I want my children to be able to see their father and to know that their father loves them very much.
As I said before, based on what I have read in the preliminary decision, and based on how this process has been conducted so far, I do not believe that Brazil has any intention of returning my children, more specifically, the BCA and the Court handling this case, have no intention of returning my children. It is also my impression that the DOS-OCI considers that the chances of obtaining the return of my children is ZERO. So much so, that they had already classified this case as non-compliance by Brazil. I think it would be a really big surprise and miracle if the Court orders the return of my children.
Another issue is that if Smadar Hameiry starts to believe that Brazil may order the return of the children, she can just go and hide in a different Brazilian city, and then no one will find her.
Can the AGU request that a psychological evaluation be conducted on Smadar Hameiry?