(RNS) An Ohio teen who ran away to Florida because she feared her Muslim father after her Christian conversion was ordered by a judge to return to Ohio.
Rifqa Bary, 17, was ordered back to the state on Friday (Oct. 23) by Judge Daniel P. Dawson of the 9th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida, The Columbus Dispatch reported.
The Florida Department of Children and Families did not release details of the transfer to protect Bary’s safety. She will be placed with a foster family.
Bary’s father has denied her claims that he threatened to kill her after learning of her conversion. During the summer, the teen traveled to Orlando, Fla. after meeting the wife of a pastor on Facebook. The couple took her in initially, but she was placed with another foster family after they contacted authorities.
A report by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement found no evidence of any abuse or threat against Bary and said her allegations are “based on her belief or understanding of the Islamic faith and/or Islamic law and custom.”