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Qatar Frees, Then Detains, U.S. Couple Accused of Killing Adopted Daughter Qatar Frees U.S. Couple in Death of Daughter
(about 7 hours later)
DOHA, Qatar — Two Americans were acquitted on Sunday of wrongdoing by an appeals court in the death of their adopted daughter from Ghana after a nearly two-year legal ordeal. But their attempt to leave Qatar was thwarted hours later when immigration officials refused to allow them to depart Doha’s airport. DOHA, Qatar — An American couple in Qatar who spent nearly two years fighting accusations they had killed their adopted daughter from Ghana were acquitted of wrongdoing on Sunday in an emotional courtroom reversal by an appellate judge who said that they were good parents and that the prosecution had no case.
In a roller-coaster day of legal ups and downs, the couple, Matthew and Grace Huang from Los Angeles, had their passports confiscated in the airport departure area as American diplomatic officials, including the United States ambassador, Dana Shell Smith, were in private meetings with Qatari officials nearby. But the joy and relief expressed by the couple, Matthew and Grace Huang of Los Angeles, gave way hours later to new frustrations and fear, as Qatari immigration officials prevented them from leaving the country even though the appellate judge had said they were free to go home.
“Whatever excitement they had has been replaced by fear,” Eric Volz, a member of the legal team that has been representing the Huangs, said in a telephone interview from the airport. “It’s like a showdown here.” Tensions at Doha’s international airport escalated as the Huangs, escorted by legal representatives and the United States ambassador, Dana Shell Smith, were told a travel ban on the couple was still in effect. It was unclear why.
He said that it was unclear why the Huangs had not been permitted to leave and that the office of the Qatar Attorney General might have ordered the couple to remain in the country pending a possible further appeal of their acquittal by the prosecution. Qatari lawyers said such an appeal is unusual but is allowed. Ambassador Smith and other American diplomatic officials went into private talks with the Qataris, but by Sunday evening there was no resolution.
It was also possible that Qatari bureaucracy delayed their departure and that a written order rescinding the travel ban was required, not just the appellate court’s ruling. But Mr. Volz said the Huangs had not expected a delay. In what appeared to be a significant intervention in the standoff, Secretary of State John Kerry got involved, issuing a statement welcoming the appellate court decision and expressing concern about the unexpected holdup. Mr. Kerry said he had spoken to Qatar’s foreign minister, Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah, about the Huangs, and had “called on the government to immediately implement the court’s decision and permit their return to the United States without further delay.”
“The question we’re asking is, ‘Why are we still here,?' ” he said later in the evening. “The court ruled that they could travel.” The Huang case has attracted widespread attention because of the flimsiness of the evidence, its racial overtones, and the prosecution’s insistence on pressing forward. The case has become a public relations problem for Qatar, the aspiring affluent Gulf emirate and increasingly important American ally, home to the largest United States military air base in the Middle East.
American diplomatic officials in Qatar declined to comment on the delay. Early on Monday, the Huangs issued a statement through their legal representatives expressing their deep exasperation at the prospect of spending more time in Qatar.
In a statement, Secretary of State John Kerry said, “We are deeply concerned about new delays that have prevented their departure.” Mr. Kerry said that he spoke with Qatar’s foreign minister “and called on the government to immediately implement the court’s decision and permit their return to the United States without further delay.” “We just left the airport after waiting all day for the U.S. government to get us out of Qatar,” they said. Despite their appeals for more robust American pressure, they said, “our requests are being ignored and we are beyond frustrated.”
Earlier in the appellate courtroom, the Huangs sobbed and hugged friends and family as the judge said that they were free to go and that the prosecution’s case against them had been deeply flawed. People connected to the case said they believed the delay may have been caused more by Qatar bureaucracy and not a new effort to reprosecute the Huangs. American and Qatari officials in Doha declined to comment.
The couple’s disappointment punctuated the end of a roller-coaster day that began in the appellate courtroom, where the Huangs sobbed and hugged friends and family as the judge said that they were free to go and that the prosecution’s case against them was fatally flawed.
The Huangs immediately departed the courtroom with their legal representatives and sought to make arrangements to leave Qatar and fly home to reunite with their two other children, both adopted boys, from Ghana and Uganda.The Huangs immediately departed the courtroom with their legal representatives and sought to make arrangements to leave Qatar and fly home to reunite with their two other children, both adopted boys, from Ghana and Uganda.
“This has been an emotional trial for me and my family,” Mr. Huang said in a statement he read outside the courtroom. “Grace and I want to go home and be reunited with our sons. We have been unable to grieve our daughter’s death. But we want to thank the judge for today’s decision.”“This has been an emotional trial for me and my family,” Mr. Huang said in a statement he read outside the courtroom. “Grace and I want to go home and be reunited with our sons. We have been unable to grieve our daughter’s death. But we want to thank the judge for today’s decision.”
Asked outside the court what she was looking forward to the most, Ms. Huang said, “Seeing our kids, seeing our sons.” Asked outside the court what she was looking forward to the most, Mrs. Huang said, “Seeing our kids, seeing our sons.”
The parents spent nearly a year in prison before their case was heard for the first time last November, when they were released on their own recognizance but ordered to remain in Qatar. Their other two children already had been sent home to the United States in the custody of Ms. Huang’s mother. The parents spent nearly a year in prison before their case was heard for the first time last November, when they were released on their own recognizance but ordered to remain in Qatar. Their other two children already had been sent home to the United States in the custody of Mrs. Huang’s mother.
Last March, the couple were found guilty of a reduced charge, child endangerment, and sentenced to three years in prison. They appealed to have the verdict dismissed, while prosecutors sought a more severe sentence. The Huangs were ordered to remain in Qatar pending the appeals court decision. In March, the couple was found guilty of a reduced charge, child endangerment, and sentenced to three years in prison. They appealed to have the verdict dismissed, while prosecutors sought a more severe sentence. The Huangs were ordered to remain in Qatar pending the appeals court decision.
On Sunday, the appellate judge, Abdul Rahman al-Sharafi, discredited the prosecution’s case point by point in his ruling, a highly unusual development in the Qatari judicial system, in which prosecutors and the police are often heavily favored. On Sunday, the appellate judge, Abdul Rahman al-Sharafi, discredited the prosecution’s case point by point in his ruling, a highly unusual development in the Qatari judicial system where prosecutors and the police are often heavily favored.
Judge Sharafi said that it was clear that the Huangs were good parents who cared for their children, as shown by witness testimony, and that their two other children were not abused. He also questioned, as the Huangs’ defense lawyers had done, the integrity of the forensic report that was the crux of the prosecution’s case. Judge Sharafi said it was clear that the Huangs were good parents who cared for their children, as shown by witness testimony and that their two other children were not abused. He also questioned, as the Huangs’ defense lawyers had done, the integrity of the forensic report that was the crux of the prosecution’s case.
“The defense offered plenty of proof that they are not guilty,” he said.“The defense offered plenty of proof that they are not guilty,” he said.
Mr. Huang, reached later by telephone, said it was the first time in the case that a judge had acknowledged all the reasons the prosecution’s case was groundless.Mr. Huang, reached later by telephone, said it was the first time in the case that a judge had acknowledged all the reasons the prosecution’s case was groundless.
“We were very excited by the decision today,” Mr. Huang said. “We are glad the truth came out.”“We were very excited by the decision today,” Mr. Huang said. “We are glad the truth came out.”
The case took on added significance as the State Department repeatedly expressed its concern about the fairness of the prosecution, which originally charged the Huangs with murder in the death of their 8-year-old daughter, Gloria, in January 2013, and suggested that the Huangs were child traffickers. The case took on added significance as the State Department repeatedly expressed its concern about the fairness of the prosecution, which originally charged the Huangs with murder in the death of their 8-year-old daughter, Gloria, in January 2013, and had suggested that the Huangs were child traffickers.
The prosecution had argued that the Huangs had killed Gloria by denying her food. The Huangs said she had an eating disorder, a vestige of her impoverished upbringing in Africa. A precise cause of death was never established.The prosecution had argued that the Huangs had killed Gloria by denying her food. The Huangs said she had an eating disorder, a vestige of her impoverished upbringing in Africa. A precise cause of death was never established.
The case laid bare some ingrained prejudices in Qatar about adoption and multiracial families. Part of the original prosecution argument rested on suspicion that the Huangs, who are of Asian descent, could not have possibly adopted a black African girl and must have been seeking to sell her or her organs.The case laid bare some ingrained prejudices in Qatar about adoption and multiracial families. Part of the original prosecution argument rested on suspicion that the Huangs, who are of Asian descent, could not have possibly adopted a black African girl and must have been seeking to sell her or her organs.
The Huangs moved to Qatar in July 2012 with their children because Mr. Huang had been hired as a public works engineer in Doha as part of its preparations for the 2022 World Cup tournament. The Huangs had moved to Qatar in July 2012 with their children because Mr. Huang had been hired as a public works engineer in Doha as part of its preparations for the 2022 World Cup tournament.
There was no immediate comment on the Huangs’ acquittal from Mr. Huang’s former employer, MWH Global, a leading international public works engineering firm based in Broomfield, Colo.There was no immediate comment on the Huangs’ acquittal from Mr. Huang’s former employer, MWH Global, a leading international public works engineering firm based in Broomfield, Colo.