The agreement between Rifqa Bary and her parents to settle their conflict through counseling has ended without a single meeting between the parents and their daughter, according to a motion filed in Franklin County Juvenile Court.
The parents – Mohamed and Aysha Bary – are withdrawing their consent to resolve the case. Rifqa and her parents agreed on Jan. 19 that she would stay in foster care and they would undergo counseling instead of beginning a dependency trial to determine where the 17-year-old should live.
She turns 18 on Aug. 10.
The motion says: “The parents now believe the entire deal should be thrown out because of misrepresentation and fraudulent inducement.” It adds that the Barys now object to all decisions made on Jan. 19 and want a trial on the dependency case.
Rifqa ran away in July, saying her father abused her and threatened to kill her for converting from Islam to Christianity. Authorities could not find any credible threats to her safety.
Franklin County Children Services promised it would protect Rifqa from the people who helped her run away and are trying to exploit her, but she’s allowed to talk to Blake and Beverly Lorenz, according to the motion filed yesterday by Omar Tarazi, attorney for the parents.
The Lorenzes are the Florida pastor couple who housed Rifqa for more than two weeks after she ran away.
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