Bumped & Sticky
Don't know if this is credible but here it is:
Rifqa walked in after her parents sat down with their attorney Craig McCarthy at one table.
She is seated at another, but facing her mother, who is wearing a scarf and wiping her eyes with a tissue.
Rifqa wants to make a statement before the hearing begins.
The attorneys are huddling before the judge for a decision on whether he will allow that.
UPDATE: Judge Dawson has decided to let her speak, saying it his policy to let anyone speak in open court.
This case is about jurisdiction, whether she can stay in the care of the Florida Department of Children and Families, or whether she has to be turned over to Ohio authorities.
A representative from DCF has told the court that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has agreed to investigate the matter, because DCF fears she is in danger.
An attorney for Rifqa's parents said Ohio has investigated this matter and if there's any question about her safety, then Ohio is the place for that to be determined.
"There is no basis," the attorney said, for her to stay in Florida since her life is in Ohio.
McCarthy said it would "enormous prejudice" to try this matter in Florida.
A legal representative for Rifqa says since Ohio has no prior legal proceeding in this case, then Florida can claim jurisdiction.
Staying in Florida, her legal team argues, would keep her safe.
Judge Dawson said he has had no contact with Ohio courts, so he doesn't know if Ohio wants jurisdiction in this case.
"Rifqa wants to be here," said one of her lawyers.
He told the court the teen's safety would be compromised back in Ohio, referring to some 'terrorist activity' in the region where she lived. He did not elaborate.
UPDATE: Rifqa is sitting with her attorneys, reading a book that she brought in. She glances at the judge and her legal team, but not her parents.
Judge Dawson says "at first blush" it appears his court has jurisdiction in this custody matter, since no Ohio court has taken up the matter.
Attorneys for the parents are citing a ruling that Judge Dawson could request an Ohio court to initiate a hearing, but Dawson said he didn't feel that was the case, although he appears willing to make contact.
update: A hearing is set for September 3rd at 2:30 p.m.
A dependency petition will be argued at that time.
The judge is still ordering a mediation effort to avoid trial.
update: Rafqa is making her statement to the court. "I've been a christian for 4 years of my life. I love my parents but I am in fear of my life because of the past abuse. I assure your honor Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. I am a Christian, a believer."
Her mother cried, "I need my daughter back."
He father said "I love my daughter, I have no problem in her practicing another religion."
She is free to come and practice what she likes in my home," he said.
Rifqa will spend some time with her younger brothers, but does not want to meet with her parents at this time.
The court will allow it.
update: Rifqa is staying in a foster home. Her foster parents are not willing to allow supervised visitation of Rifqa's family or friends right now. The judge is recommending DCF take charge of the issue and hold these meetings in an outside location where it can be videotaped.
Judge Dawson asked if Rifqa is a legal immigrant. She was born in Sri Lanka. Her attorneys say they are trying to determine that and need the parents' cooperation.
Her father, Mohammed, said she arrived in the U.S. on a visa. Since she has turned 17, her legal status is in question.
Rifqa will be home schooled in her foster home. She attended high school back in Ohio where she was a cheerleader.
The hearing ended at 4:07 PM
Source
18 comments:
Yes! It's also posted on Atlas! What a relief!
I'm still in shock but relieved overall. It was just today I talked with a guy who knows some "influential" people in Florida. I told him I'd ask for his help if a miracle happened, however, I said, "I think its already too late and I have no hope."
However, I am so glad that I was proven wrong. Let us all keep fighting for this girl until she's completely safe though.
Not only is it not too late, we now have the momentum. If the Florida AG and Department of Law Enforcement carry through on their intent to investigate the situation and determine her level of safety it can open the whole can of worms -- the penalty of death for apostasy, the family abuse, the mosque.
I haven't had the chance to be in on something like this for nearly 20 years, back when I worked on helping to get people out of cults -- real cults. This is something much more than getting someone out of the Moonies. Islam is a cult which threatens us all. Now that we at least have the attention of some people who can take action, we have to keep supplying them with information, testimony, resources.
Well, I completely did not expect this.
Great news. I agree with RRA, if this is investigated and carried out in a court of Law, we may have the first legal precedent for the eventual building of a case that Sharia itself is sedition, since it denies the Freedom of Conscience.
What is interesting to me is that the judge is ordering mediation to avoid trial.
There is also a dependency hearing set.
Unless both of those things are required procedural items under Florida family law, they make me think it is likely that she will be moved to foster care until she is 18.
If they are both necessary procedural proceedings, it does tend to "run the clock out," although Avenging Apostate indicated that she won't be 18 until next summer.
Ro
Wow...again guilt has already been placed with the parents by everyone here...I am not sure how you all came to that decision..but I can guess that from the fact that you have already tried this case your next step logical step will be to take all muslim children away from there parents cause there is the possibility of danger...lets look only at the fact that they are muslim and nothing else.
Apostasy in Islam: you seem to have set in stone what Islam says...has anyone done any research or have you been just listening to what everyone else is saying...at the least please go to wikipedia and look it up (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostasy_in_Islam)It gives you at least a well rounded look at it. To summarize it mentions that the Quran mentions that apostates will be dealt in the afterlife by god citing many references.
It does also state that in Islamic Sharia Law that the penalty for Apostasy is death. Please note that in Sharia Law this is something determined by what is the likes of a court. No father can choose to kill there daughter at home for any reason. Islamic law states that in the absence of such a court the the Law of the Land. It also references the case of Salman Rushdi a very famous Apostasy case. He was caught in Iran in 2006 (you will remember this is the man who wrote a book saying some very bad things about out Prophet (PBUH)) So was he killed like a rabid dog? No...he was released for being mentally incompetent....funny how the threat to him in 1989 was all over the American Media but this relatively unnoticed (even I didnt know until reading it here)
Rifqa's claim: The only way I can get you to understand that a claim isnt the truth us perhaps by using this example: Is every Christian Clergy or Minister accused of Child molestation guilty? After all as a human being if I was put in a state of Celebacy there are going to be some serious human biological needs that need to be met. The media has shown me enough examples of this (although now I believe the Media is treating it as old news and the norm so not the shocker as it was at one point) So...is every claim true??
Shiraz,
I am aware three are different versions of Sharia, but you know that Sharia (strictly defined) calls for death to the apostate.
You also know that while the Koran does not call for fathers to murder their daughters for apostasy, or for dishonoring the family, that it does happen, quite often.
And, for some reason the Muslim community (of which, I assume you are a part) consistently do what you are doing here, which is to try to convince us dumb Infidels that there is nothing to be concerned about.
Do you deny that in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, and the Sudan, that gays, apostates, and adulterers are quite often killed for their "crimes"?
Shiraz,
Here's an example from one of the Western world's most respected Islamic scholars:
Mr. Ramadan, who has managed to impress a predominantly leftist audience with his eloquent talk of a "European Islam," likes to talk about democracy and following the rule of law—but only as long as the law doesn't contradict an Islamic principle. He rejects terrorism and violence but thinks that blowing up eight-year-old Israeli children is "contextually explicable." He supposedly stands for a modern Islam, but he refused to reject the stoning of adulterers when then-interior minister and future French President Nicolas Sarkozy challenged him on the subject in a 2003 TV debate. All Mr. Ramadan could bring himself to say was to call for a "moratorium" on the practice.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203550604574360193435076088.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
They never say anything when Islam has the upper hand. They start popping their heads out once they see imminent defeat.
Shiraz,
Um, what the crap are you talking about? Salman Rushdie, arrested in 2006? You got any proof of that?
As for your wikipedia link, well for some reason, they conveniently forgot to mention 4:88-89 of the Quran. Oh yeah I know, interpretation and language problem. How about when you read it in Arabic?
As for priests that molested children. Well, I can prove from YOUR religious texts that Islam asks that apostates be killed. Bring me the verses from the Bible or Biblical tradition (I'll give you even that) that teach you to rape young kids. And on top of that, when it was discovered what those priests had done, not one Christian stood with them and supported them. Everyone was one voice in condemning what they'd done. I don't see any Muslims condemning murder in the name of Islam.
As for the way you said the Shariah law is applied...again, bring proof for what you're saying and none of that, "oh I know, just believe me" crap. Your BS works with the mainstream media but not here.
Instead of just pulling things out of your butt, try to present facts and then maybe we will have a discussion. Until then, you keep on lying and we will keep on exposing you.
As far as research is concerned, I did write an article about this a couple of days ago, but back then you had your head in the sand.
Yeah, I had forgotten to comment on that thing about Salman Rushdie being arrested in Iran and then let go.
That is patently false.
Where did you get that from, Shiraz?
One has to wonder if maybe Shiraz lives in the Muslim world and believe these rumors.
Avenging Apostate, you read a lot of Western Media.
One thing I have noticed about Arabic and Iranian media is that when they quote a person, there are never quotation marks. And, often it seems as if they are paraphrasing the person. It seems to me this is part of a culture which is just not dedicated to facts.
Shiraz seems to be steeped in that culture.
Did you guys see on Atlas that the dad closed down the business at the end of July? At least he dissolved the business entity under which he was operating his gem business.
Looks like they thought they'd get her back and go back home, per the post at Atlas.
And Shiraz - in the US, there have been so many horror stories of kids being returned to homes where there was evidence of abuse (to try to "maintain the family bond") where the child was subsequently horribly murdered.
So legal standards have been changing and if there is credible evidence, it may be that courts are more cautious about sending kids back.
In this case the evidence is being given by someone who is almost at the age of legal adulthood, and it sounds like the judge is giving it a lot of weight.
Interesting.
Ro
Pastorius,
You are right about the Arabic media (don't know about Iranian but I assume its similar). The other day, a local newspaper reported that the UAE "subway" is going to cost $0.50 which is the cheapest IN THE WORLD AFTER TEHRAN. Now I have been to Buenos Aires, Argentina and their subway costs $0.29, which is way cheaper than Dubai, however, they decided not to mention that in the paper and without any research, declared the Dubai subway system the 2nd cheapest.
Same way, they said that Dubai Mall is the biggest mall in the world, ignoring that there's a mall in Canada that is actually bigger. Anyway, these things, even though they are trivial do reveal that there is a trend where they say things without any backing proof.
I grew up in this culture. I used to believe things like this. I would never question what Muslims would say or print. And I would always doubt and reject what infidels would say or print. However, growing up in this culture doesn't justify me being blind to the truth. So I think, no matter where Shiraz lives or grew up, it doesn't justify him spewing out lies. Whether he does it intentionally or unintentionally, I think he's guilty of lying. He needs to straighten himself out before he comments again then.
Anyway, you ARE quite right about the culture though.
Ro,
If what Atlas is saying is true, then this proves what this girl is saying and would prove the father to be a liar (legally, with evidence). Because, I read somewhere that one day the mother got mad at Rifqa and threatened to take her back to Srilanka in these words, 'Because of you, all of us are going to have to move back' (paraphrased). However, the father continued, "we're not moving back, she said that because she was angry at the time." again paraphrased.
However, if he sold his business, that might mean they were already getting ready to move back. Hope Rifqa's lawyers are onto that.
Rifqa will be home schooled in her foster home.
Protection and spiritual feeding!
Probably the A Beka curriculum, too.
According to that curriculum, "Mohammed was a deluded dreamer."
Avenging Apostate,
I've read enough of Iranian Media to know that they also lack quotation marks in their reporting.
I find that very odd.
It reminds me of the mafia, where the boss tells one of his buys, "Take care of Paulie for me," *meaning kill him, in so many words) and it remains absolutely untraceable.
I'm guessing cameras and recorders are not allowed in Iranian and Arabic "press conferences" if there is any such thing.
I'm guessing what happens, instead, is a communications person associated with the regime puts out a vague piece and then the media writes the story from there. Sometimes, I know, the leader appears in public, and makes his statements publicly.
This is especially true of Ahmadinejad.
But, I don't think it is so true of the leaders of Saudi, UAE, Egypt, Jordan, or many of the other Arab states.
I'm guessing what happens, instead, is a communications person associated with the regime puts out a vague piece and then the media writes the story from there. Sometimes, I know, the leader appears in public, and makes his statements publicly.
I have a friend actually who works for the PR agency of the ruler of Dubai. What my friend tells me is that the agency just creates a quote out of nowhere, gets it approved by people in the government and then release it as the words of, say, the ruler of Dubai. Then the media reports it as though they got those words directly from the ruler's mouth, when in fact the ruler never said anything at all.
I'm not surprised.
And, once again, back to the fact that there are no quotation marks.
Here on IBA, not only are we specific about quotation marks, but we are specific about what source we are quoting, not only what person, but what newspaper, or blog, or whatever.
The Western world has a tradition of this. I find a book to be dubious if there are not citations to back up at least the most controversial bits of information.
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