Matthew and Grace Huang are an American couple who were convicted by the judicial system of Qatar in March 2014 of neglecting their daughter (whom they had adopted), thus leading to her death.
[1] However, on November 30, 2014, the Appellate Court of Qatar declared the Huangs innocent, and three days later lifted the travel ban allowing them to return home and be reunited with their sons.
Matthew Huang, a Stanford-trained engineer, was relocated[3] there by his employer, MWH Global, to work for two years on a major infrastructure project[4] related to the 2022 World Cup improvements.
Matthew moved to Doha with his wife, Grace, and their three children (all of whom were adopted), in 2012 because MWH Global relocated him there to work for two years on a major infrastructure project related to the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
[15][16] This came as a result of a private negotiations between the Huang's representatives and the Qatar Attorney General Ali bin Fetais al-Marri.
[18] According to the "California Innocence Project" the report filed by the police in the investigation noted that the children were not “good-looking” and did not share the “hereditary traits” of their parents.
[6] The CIP reported that investigations also theorize that Matthew and Grace “bought” their children in order to harvest their organs, or perhaps to perform medical experiments on them, allegations arising from the testimony of unnamed sources who claimed that family kept to themselves and did not socialize[5] However, friends of the family in Qatar came forward to praise Matthew and Grace's parenting skills and the way they care for and love their children.
Cachexia can produce symptoms such as weight loss and muscle atrophy, which often looks similar to starvation, and can be caused by a range of conditions, including congestive heart failure and autoimmune diseases.
As noted in the report by the Qatari medical examiner, Dr. Anis Mahmoud Khalifa, Gloria also lacked other physical hallmarks of a child who was starved to death or abused.
She also had recent blood tests showing severely low levels of a certain type of leukocytes that may have been a sign of an underlying bone marrow condition.
[22] The medical examiner's report also made no mention of testing the vitreous humour, the clear gel inside the eyes, which is a standard way to diagnose dehydration.
A police detective from the criminal investigation department said that according to information gathered from “intelligence sources we knew that the defendant once has taken away a candy off the girl’s hand, and grounded her for eating it.” Pertaining to the issue of adoption, detective Ahmad Issac Hamoudah Abu Zoro told the court, “As you are aware, the deceased child has black complexion, very skinny while her parents are white.
[23] The California Innocence Project claims that Qatari police records stated that it was odd that the Asian Huangs had adopted black children who were not “good looking” and who didn't share their “hereditary traits.”[10][20] In addition, Dr. Anis Mahmoud Khalifa, the medical examiner who conducted Gloria's autopsy, openly told the court, “I never mentioned in my report or statements the word “starvation” but rather emaciation,” contradicting the prosecution's basis for charging her parents with starving Gloria to death.
The judges deliberated and accepted the prosecutor's motion, and set the next trial date for October 20, 2014, spanning over 4 months of waiting for Matthew and Grace, while unable to travel home.
During this time, the U.S. State Department issued its first public statement of support for the Huangs:[31] "On July 30, 2014, Under Secretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman and Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Anne Patterson met with family and representatives of U.S. citizens Matthew and Grace Huang concerning their ongoing legal proceedings in Qatar following the tragic death of their daughter, Gloria.
Under Secretary Sherman conveyed concern for the Huang family’s well-being, adding that assisting U.S. citizens in need overseas was among the Department’s highest priorities.
We also urge the Qatari Government to lift the current travel ban and allow Mr. and Mrs. Huang to return home to the United States to be reunited with their two sons and the rest of their family."
The witness contradicted his previous testimony[33] by stating that there was no food or water in Gloria's intestines, and that it was not his job to determine whether she had died of starvation.
The request is for these individuals to compel the Qatar government to end the imprisonment they consider wrongful of Matthew and Grace, and allow them to be reunited with their sons in the U.S.