Warrior-Mentor
10-23-2009, 14:44
READ IT HERE:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orange/orl-bk-fathima-rifqa-bary-ohio-102309,0,5422393.story
Judge orders Fathima Rifqa Bary to return to Ohio
Amy L. Edwards
Sentinel Staff Writer
October 23, 2009
An Orange County judge ordered Ohio teen runaway Fathima Rifqa Bary back to that state, ending the 17-year-old girl's three-month stay in Florida as she battled her parents over her religious freedom and allegations of abuse.
Circuit Judge Daniel Dawson signed an order Friday afternoon asking the Florida Department of Children and Families to make arrangements to send Rifqa back to Ohio, where she is bound for a new stint with a foster family.
A DCF spokeswoman confirmed her agency received Dawson's ruling.
"This order indicates that the Court has relinquished its emergency jurisdiction and orders the Department to arrange the transportation of the child to the proper authorities with Franklin County Children Services in Ohio," spokeswoman Carrie Hoeppner said.
Hoeppner said DCF will not discuss details of Rifqa's transfer from a foster family in Central Florida to one in Ohio. She cited safety reasons.
Rifqa's private attorney, John Stemberger, has not returned phone calls seeking comment.
Reached by phone Friday afternoon, Rifqa's father, Mohamed Bary, was laughing and giddy during a brief conversation with the Orlando Sentinel. He declined comment, though, citing a gag order in the case.
Bary has been fighting to get his daughter back home since the family reported her missing in mid-July. That's when Rifqa hopped a Greyhound bus -- under an assumed name, she said later -- and arrived in Orlando.
Rifqa said she feared her Muslim father would harm or kill her because she converted to Christianity.
Investigators in Florida and Ohio said they found no threats against Rifqa.
In Orlando, Rifqa sought shelter with husband-and-wife pastors in Orlando and lived with their family for several weeks before she fell into the care of DCF.
She has been living with a foster family in Central Florida while the local court determined her fate.
Last week, Dawson decided Rifqa's case should be handled in Ohio.
Sentinel staff writer Rene Stutzman contributed to this report.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orange/orl-bk-fathima-rifqa-bary-ohio-102309,0,5422393.story
Judge orders Fathima Rifqa Bary to return to Ohio
Amy L. Edwards
Sentinel Staff Writer
October 23, 2009
An Orange County judge ordered Ohio teen runaway Fathima Rifqa Bary back to that state, ending the 17-year-old girl's three-month stay in Florida as she battled her parents over her religious freedom and allegations of abuse.
Circuit Judge Daniel Dawson signed an order Friday afternoon asking the Florida Department of Children and Families to make arrangements to send Rifqa back to Ohio, where she is bound for a new stint with a foster family.
A DCF spokeswoman confirmed her agency received Dawson's ruling.
"This order indicates that the Court has relinquished its emergency jurisdiction and orders the Department to arrange the transportation of the child to the proper authorities with Franklin County Children Services in Ohio," spokeswoman Carrie Hoeppner said.
Hoeppner said DCF will not discuss details of Rifqa's transfer from a foster family in Central Florida to one in Ohio. She cited safety reasons.
Rifqa's private attorney, John Stemberger, has not returned phone calls seeking comment.
Reached by phone Friday afternoon, Rifqa's father, Mohamed Bary, was laughing and giddy during a brief conversation with the Orlando Sentinel. He declined comment, though, citing a gag order in the case.
Bary has been fighting to get his daughter back home since the family reported her missing in mid-July. That's when Rifqa hopped a Greyhound bus -- under an assumed name, she said later -- and arrived in Orlando.
Rifqa said she feared her Muslim father would harm or kill her because she converted to Christianity.
Investigators in Florida and Ohio said they found no threats against Rifqa.
In Orlando, Rifqa sought shelter with husband-and-wife pastors in Orlando and lived with their family for several weeks before she fell into the care of DCF.
She has been living with a foster family in Central Florida while the local court determined her fate.
Last week, Dawson decided Rifqa's case should be handled in Ohio.
Sentinel staff writer Rene Stutzman contributed to this report.