U.S. couple win freedom in Qatar, only to be detained again

An appeals court in Qatar today overturned the convictions of a Los Angeles couple who had been sentenced to three years in prison for the death of their adopted African-born daughter, but the government was refusing to let the couple leave the country, a spokesman for the family said.

Matthew and Grace Huang were trying to return to the United States after the tribunal in the Persian Gulf nation found that the lower court had made numerous errors, family spokesman Eric Volz said. But as soon as they arrived at the airport in Doha, their passports were seized, and they were told a new arrest warrant had been issued for them, Volz said.

“This is sort of a spiteful move,” Volz said.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry issued a statement saying he was “deeply concerned” about “ new delays that have prevented their departure,” and he called on Qatar to immediately allow the couple to return to the U.S.

“The thoroughly documented findings of the court clearly establish the Huangs’ innocence,” Kerry said. “The 22 long months of court proceedings following their daughter’s tragic death have compounded the tragedy for the Huang family, and it is time now, as the Appeals Court stated, to let the Huangs return home.”

A representative of the Qatari government could not be reached immediately.

The Huangs were arrested in January 2013 after their 8-year-old daughter, Gloria, died unexpectedly. An autopsy found that she died of “cachexia and dehydration,” and a prosecutor charged the couple with “murder with intent by forced starvation.” Cachexia is an irreversible loss of body mass. They were convicted in April.

The couple argued that Gloria had been suffering from malnutrition-related diseases since they adopted her from Ghana at the age of 4.

The family’s two other adopted children were placed in an orphanage initially but have since returned to the United States.