Qatar stops US couple leaving after acquittal
Print Edition
AN American couple cleared yesterday by a Qatari appeals court of wrongdoing in the death of their adopted daughter has been barred from leaving the Middle Eastern country just hours after they were told they were free to go.
Matthew and Grace Huang were stopped from exiting the Gulf nation and had their passports confiscated as they tried to pass through airport immigration control in the capital, Doha, said family representative Eric Volz, who is traveling with them.
Volz said officials informed the couple that a new appeal has been filed in their case and that they were not allowed to leave.
“As you can imagine it’s a very scary situation,” Volz said.
The Huang’s were met at the airport by US Ambassador Dana Shell Smith, reflecting the intensity of American government interest in the case.
“We are very, very happy to see justice delivered,” Smith said as they entered the airport.
Not long afterward, the Huangs were stopped by immigration authorities.
The unexpected delay adds a new twist to a legal saga that may have stemmed from cultural misunderstandings in the Gulf nation.
The Los Angeles couple had been banned from leaving while their case made its way through the courts, but the appeals court ruled yesterday they were free to leave after the presiding judge overturned a child endangerment conviction against them.
The Huangs spent months behind bars before being let out on their own recognizance last November. They were convicted in March of child endangerment and sentenced to three years in prison. They were allowed to remain free pending their appeal.
A doctor in Qatar who conducted their daughter Gloria’s autopsy determined that dehydration and wasting disease were the cause of death. The Huangs say 8-year-old Gloria suffered from medical problems complicated by unusual eating habits. Prosecutors alleged she died after being denied food and locked in her room.
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