Try as they might, Rifqa Bary’s parents can’t keep her from reading her first Christmas cards.
The Ohio girl, who ran away to Florida because she said she feared her father would kill her for converting from Islam to Christianity — only to be sent back to Ohio by a Florida judge — remains in the care of a county children’s services agency where she has been receiving “quite a lot” of Christmas cards from well-wishers across the country, according to one of her attorneys.
John Stemberger said an attorney for Bary’s parents filed a motion earlier this month seeking to ban the 17-year-old from receiving outside messages, including Christmas cards. But Rifqa is receiving the cards nonetheless, he said.
“In the end, she’s getting the Christmas cards,” Sternberger told FoxNews.com. “They’re just making sure there’s no white powder or anything in them.”
Bary, who will turn 18 in August, is scheduled to appear Tuesday morning in Ohio’s Franklin County Juvenile Court. She may take the stand and could learn if she’ll be declared an independent, paving the way for her to live as she chooses.
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“If she’s declared an independent, that’d be a victory,” Stemberger said. “The essence of this case is a girl who converted and is getting increased hostility from the people who should be loving her the most. It’s the reason she ran.”
Bary, of New Albany, Ohio, has said she feared her father would harm or kill her for converting away from Islam, a claim her father, Mohamed Bary, vigorously denies. A Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation found no credible threats to the girl.
Bary, who fled to Florida in July, was sent back to her home state last month. Police used phone and Internet records to track her to the Rev. Blake Lorenze, pastor of the Orlando, Fla.-based Global Revolution Church and whom Bary met in a prayer group on Facebook, according to authorities. Bary’s phone and Internet usage are now being closely monitored, per a judge’s ruling.
Attempts to reach Omar Tarazi, an attorney for Bary’s parents, were unsuccessful early Tuesday. Speaking earlier to FoxNews.com, he said a court-issued gag order prevented him from discussing the hearing.
Earlier this month, Franklin County Juvenile Magistrate Mary Goodrich ordered the state to supervise Bary’s telephone and Internet use at the request of the county children’s services agency.
The girl’s parents supported the restrictions, saying through their attorney they were concerned about her interacting with adults over the Internet.
“As you know, there’s a lot of danger and concern about that with children,” Tarazi said.
Kort Gatterdam, an attorney representing the girl, opposed the request, saying problems were caused by a conflict between the girl and her parents, not the Internet.
“We’re making some assumptions, without evidence in the record, that she has done something improper talking to people on Facebook. There’s no evidence of that,” Gatterdam told the judge. “If the goal here is normalcy and reunification or whatever, this is not the way to go.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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