AP reports: “Ohio Christian convert fights to stay in US”
— AP reports: “A teenage girl who converted to Christianity and ran away from home is being blocked by her Muslim parents from fighting the possibility of deportation, her attorney told a judge Monday in an ongoing custody dispute.”
— “Rifqa Bary, 17, who fled home last year and stayed with a Florida minister whom she met on Facebook, is an illegal immigrant and does not want to be returned to her native Sri Lanka because she fears being harmed or killed by Muslim extremists.”
— “Her attorney, Angela Lloyd, asked a judge to sign an order stating that reunification with her parents is not possible by her 18th birthday in August.”
— “The order would allow Bary, who is in foster care, to apply for special immigration status without her parents’ consent.”
— “Omar Tarazi, an attorney for the parents, objected, telling the judge that he had been unaware of this latest maneuver by Bary’s attorney to apply to an immigration court. He said the parents previously filed an immigration application for the whole family.”
— “Franklin County Juvenile Court Judge Elizabeth Gill declined to issue the order without first holding a hearing next month. She also declined to remove a gag order that prevents attorneys from discussing the case publicly.”
— “Bary and her parents, Mohamed and Aysha Bary, have agreed to follow a counseling plan drawn up by a county child welfare agency to try to resolve the family’s conflict. It requires both sides to work with individual counselors and to try to attend join counseling.”
— “But a face-to-face meeting remains unlikely any time soon.”
— “Jim Zorn, a children’s services attorney, told the judge that Bary continues to believe that a reconciliation with her parents is impossible. Bary’s counselor has indicated that contact with her parents would be premature, he said.”
Rifqa Bary, 17 - reports say she is threatened with death by her family in Ohio for converting from Islam to Christianity
Responsible for Equality And Liberty’s Activism in Columbus, Ohio for Rifqa Bary
Call to Columbus Public to Defend Religious Freedom
Other R.E.A.L. Postings on Rifqa Bary
Rifqa Bary Case: Judge Dismisses Motion for Trial, Motion to Set Aside January 19 Agreement
Ohio — Rifqa Bary to parents: We’re done; Runaway convert says reconciliation impossible
Rifqa Bary Case: Agreement between Rifqa Bary, parents to settle conflict short-lived
Ohio — Rifqa Bary Case: Counseling next for Rifqa, family
Columbus, Ohio — Rifqa Bary Case: “Runaway convert told to talk religion with Muslim parents”
Columbus, Ohio: November 13 — R.E.A.L. Public Awareness Activities on Religious Freedom
R.E.A.L. Outreach to Public at CNN Washington DC on “Honor Killings”
Why Extremist Honor Killings Represent Ideological Violence Against Women
Ohio: Rifqa Bary returns to Columbus — Bary’s Internet, Phone Usage to be Monitored
Florida: Judge orders Fathima Rifqa Bary to return to Ohio
Rifqa Bary Case: Runaway Rifqa Bary could be one step closer to returning home
U.S. — CNN iReport Says Rifqa Bary Case Indicative of Human Rights Threats to Thousands
Florida: Updates on Rifqa Bary Case
Ohio: Columbus Dispatch — “Family of runaway files court complaint” — Rifqa Bary case
Florida: Fathima Rifqa Bary Case — Judge keeps girl in Florida, orders mediation
Florida: Rifaq Bary Case — Additional Reports
Florida: Judge says 17-year-old Christian convert Rifqa Bary must stay in Florida
Florida Governor’s Office Replies on Rifqa Bary Case
Florida: Ohio Girl Says Family Threatens to Kill Her for Converting from Islam to Christianity
R.E.A.L. at Ohio State University on “Honor Killings”
R.E.A.L.'s Jeffrey Imm Discusses Threats to Religious Freedom in America With Ohio State Students and Why the Rifqa Bary Case is a Concern
Why the Rifqa Bary Case Matters