US couple Matthew and Grace Huang cleared of child’s death leave Qatar
Two-year saga ends after being accused of starving their adopted African daughter to death
An American couple has left the Gulf nation of Qatar after being cleared of charges in their adopted eight-year-old daughter's death, ending a nearly two-year legal saga they contend was rooted in confusion over cross-cultural adoption.
The Los Angeles couple, Matthew and Grace Huang, caught international attention after they were arrested in January last year on murder charges following the death of their African-born daughter Gloria.
The Huangs, who are of Chinese descent, had adopted Gloria in Ghana when she was four years old, and are also the parents of two African-born adopted boys.
Throughout the case, the family's representative continuously expressed concern that there were cultural misunderstandings underpinning the charges against the Huangs in a nation where Western-style adoptions and cross-cultural families are relatively rare.
An initial police report raised questions about why the Huangs would adopt children who did not share their "hereditary traits." Prosecutors also raised suspicions that the children were part of a human-trafficking operation or were "bought" for organ harvesting, the family's website said.
The case drew Washington's involvement, with US ambassador to Qatar Dana Shell Smith accompanying the Huangs on Wednesday at Doha's Hamad International Airport to ensure they cleared passport control and reached their departure gate. The Huang's lawyer also was present.
"We feel relieved. We feel gratitude to the legal system in the state of Qatar, which after some time worked as a good legal system should," Smith said after ensuring the couple made it to their departure gate, bound for Los Angeles.