Day: October 13, 2009

WESH: Religious Runaway To Be Sent To Ohio Foster Home — Rifqa Bary Say She Fled To Orlando To Escape Persecution
— WESH reports: “Rifqa Bary, 17, made national headlines when she fled from her parents’ home because she claimed they planned to kill her for converting to Christianity. Bary posted a video on YouTube calling her parents radical.”
— “A Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigated Rifqa Bary’s claims and found no evidence she would be a victim of an honor killing if she were returned home. There was also no evidence of assault or abuse.”

WFTV: “Judge Orders Runaway Convert To Return To Ohio”
— WFTV Video Report with Rifqa Bary

WFTV reports:
— “The teenager who ran away from Ohio to Orlando because she feared physical harm for converting from Islam to Christianity has been ordered back to Ohio, but the judge made two conditions.”
— “The Orlando judge said Tuesday afternoon that 17-year-old Rifqa Bary, who had been staying in Orlando, should return to Ohio under the care of the state’s child protective services. The judge, though said, he needs documentation that she can continue the online education she’s getting in Florida and her parents must turn over all immigration documents to the judge to prove she can legally stay in the United States.”
— “The Orlando judge set a hearing for October 23 if the aforementioned conditions have not been met. If they are met before that time, it’s possible Bary could head back to Ohio sooner.”
— “Bary is in foster care in Orlando while her case is being reviewed. The judge says he will turn over the case to an Ohio court in the next few weeks, but no order has been signed yet”

Orlando Sentinel:

Judge: Rifqa Bary will go back to Ohio
— Orlando Sentinel Reports:
— “Rifqa Bary, the Muslim-to-Christian teen convert who is at the center of a politically charged custody dispute, will go back to Ohio as soon as issues of her immigration and virtual schooling are solved”
— “An Orange Circuit Judge said he will return a teenage runaway from Ohio back to Ohio but only after her immigration status is settled and only after ensuring she can continue her schooling at ‘virtural school’ in Ohio.”
— “At a hearing in Orlando to determine the immediate future for Fathima Rifqa Bary, judge Daniel Dawson asked that her parents — from whom Rifqa ran in July — submit all the paperwork necessary to settle any immigration issues.”
— “The family is from Sri Lanka but lives and works outside Columbus, Ohio.”
— “Krista Bartholomew, Rifqa’s guardian ad litem, said she will provide a list of all documents needed for the immigration status so everyone is clear on what is needed. She said this has been provided before but she will do it again.”
— “Rifqa attended the hearing but used the time in the courtroom to read her Bible.”
— “She has been in Orlando since mid-July when she boarded a Greyhound bus and left Ohio. She arrived in Orlando and took up residence with husband and wife pastors that she met through a prayer group on the Internet social networking site, Facebook.”
— “The 17-year-old said she left her Muslim family because she feared they would harm or kill her because she converted to Christianity.”
— “Her family has said her fears are unfounded.”
— “But the conflict spilled into the courts after the Department of Children and Families became Rifqa’s custodian.”
— “The case is also in court-ordered mediation, but no agreement has come from it, Dawson learned today.”
— “A judge from Ohio said sat in via speaker phone, as did Rifqa’s Ohio attorneys, her parents’ attorney, Ohio media, someone from the Franklin County children services, someone from the prosecutor’s office and a guardian ad litem.”
— “The Ohio judge said told the court that her state should have jurisdiction and wants jurisdiction on the case.”
— “Bartholomew agreed the case should return to Ohio, but John Stemberger, Rifqa’s Florida attorney, objected.”
— “A representative from the children’s services in Ohio said a foster home has been identified for Rifqa in that state.”

Orlando Sentinel reported earlier that:
— “However, it should be a transition to Ohio and she continue to receive services. She would like Rifqa to have a mental examination before she returns to Ohio. She also wants the parents to have a psychological exam, too.”
— “It’s important to determine what services are needed. Rifqa has been seeing a counselor here in Florida, Batholomew said.”
— “Bartholomew also asked that she finish some of her schooling here in Florida.”
— “She wants the parents to follow the orders set up by the Florida court, such as the immigration issue.”
— “The parents have not addressed that issue yet, Bartholomew said. At this point, there is a chance she is in the country illegally.”
— “This could take several weeks, she said.”
AP: Another hearing held for runaway convert
— “The judge is holding another hearing Tuesday that will help determine whether 17-year-old Rifqa Bary stays in Orlando or returns to her family who live outside Columbus”

AP: Another hearing for Rifqa Bary

WESH: Ohio Judge Will Not Take Jurisdiction In Convert Case

Previous Reports:

August 11, 2009: Florida: Ohio Girl Says Family Threatens to Kill Her for Converting from Islam to Christianity

August 20, 2009: Florida: Human Rights Group Calls for Florida Social Services Not to Return Christian Girl (Rifqa Bary) to Ohio

August 21, 2009: Florida Governor’s Office Replies on Rifqa Bary Case

August 21, 2009: Florida: Judge says 17-year-old Christian convert Rifqa Bary must stay in Florida

September 2, 2009: Florida: Rifaq Bary Case – Additional Reports

September 3, 2009: Florida: Fathima Rifqa Bary Case – Judge keeps girl in Florida, orders mediation

September 12, 2009: U.S.: Teen who fled Muslim family gets online threat — Rifqa Bary

September 12, 2009: Ohio: Columbus Dispatch – “Family of runaway files court complaint” – Rifqa Bary case

September 23, 2009: Florida: Updates on Rifqa Bary Case