Matthew and Grace Huang are American couples who were falsely punished by Qatar's justice system in March 2014 for neglecting their daughter (which they adopted), resulting in his death. However, on November 30, 2014, the Qatar Court of Appeals proclaimed Huang innocent, and three days later lifted a travel ban allowing them to return home and reunite with their son.
Video 2013 Huang Case in Qatar
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The Huangs moved to Qatar with their three small children in 2012. Matthew Huang, a Stanford-trained engineer, was transferred there by his employer, MWH Global, to work for two years on a major infrastructure project related to the improvement of the 2022 World Cup. Matthew and Grace has adopted their three children from Africa. In all adoptions, Huang used a respected adoption agency and obtained all the proper visas from the Department of Foreign Affairs. Huang's middle child is Gloria, whom they adopted from an orphanage in Ghana when she was 4 years old in 2009 and who has a chronic eating disorder according to parents.
Maps 2013 Huang Case in Qatar
Gloria Huang
In Ghana, Gloria was born in extreme poverty and raised in poor condition during her time in an orphanage. "Huang describes his eating problem as a sporadic behavior problem that causes Gloria to occasionally go on a day where she refuses to eat.He will then follow such fasting with unhealthy eating parties and attempts to search for food from strange sources, such as in places trash or from neighbors.They are aware of their daughter's eating problems, have educated themselves on the best way to deal with those problems, and try to manage the situation and help him grow from it. "Matthew and Grace Huang say that Gloria has an eating disorder. The California Innocence Project says that Gloria died of her eating disorder.
On January 15, 2013, Gloria died suddenly and suddenly. The death certificate, issued by Qatar's top health council, cites the cause of death as "cachexia and dehydration". His parents were later arrested on suspicion of murder and trafficking.
Matthew and Grace Huang
Before moving to Doha, Qatar, Matthew and Grace Huang live in San Gabriel, California. The Huangs has three adopted African children. While the Huang was detained, their two other children were cared for by their grandmother.
Matthew Huang graduated from the University of California, Irvine in 1998. He graduated from Stanford University with a master's degree in 1999. Matthew has worked for MWH Global since July 1999. Matthew is a licensed civil engineer in California. Matthew moved to Doha with his wife, Grace, and their three children (all adopted), in 2012 because MWH Global moved him there to work for two years on a major infrastructure project related to the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Grace Huang attends three children in Qatar.
In October 2013, Huangs of two other children left Qatar to stay with family in the United States. Before this, their grandmother had flown to Qatar to take care of them while Matthew and Grace were in custody. This came as a result of private negotiations between Huang's representative and Qatar's Attorney General Ali bin Fetais al-Marri.
Matthew and Grace Huang were released from prison on November 6, 2013, but still face charges.
Retention
Matthew and Grace Huang were detained by Qatar police on January 15, 2013. They were released from detention on November 6, 2013. If found guilty, they can face the death penalty, even though Qatar has maintained a moratorium on actual executions for more than a decade..
Case
Police investigation
According to the "California Innocence Project", a report filed by police in the investigation notes that children are not "good-looking" and do not share the "inheritance" of their parents. CIP reported that the investigation also theorized that Matthew and Grace "bought" their children to retrieve their organs, or perhaps to conduct medical experiments on them, allegations arising from testimony from an anonymous source claiming that the family was guarding themselves and not socializing
However, friends from families in Qatar came forward to praise Matthew and Grace's parenting skills and the way they care for and love their children. One family was even in Huang's home the night before Gloria's death, where they said they watched Gloria walk around and sit with family.
Forensic evidence
While death certificates show that the cause of death as "cachexia and dehydration," an independent review conducted by a pediatric forensic pathologist US questioned his determination. The formal definition of cachexia is the loss of body mass that can not be reversed nutritionally. Cachexia can produce symptoms such as weight loss and muscle atrophy, which often look similar to hunger, and can be caused by a variety of conditions, including congestive heart failure and autoimmune disease. These causes were not screened in the report by a medical examiner in Doha.
One theory of Gloria's death is that she is starving. Eyewitness accounts claim that Gloria's last visible meal was four days before her death. However, Gloria was witnessed walking around her home the day before she died by visiting family. His siblings told the police how they played with him and that he looked normal in the days before he died. While a child can go a few days without eating without the risk of starvation, a child will not have the physical strength to walk one day before death from starvation.
As noted in the report by the Qatar medical examiner, Dr. Anis Mahmoud Khalifa, Gloria also has no other physical characteristic of a child who is starving to death or abused.
There are also several other considerations regarding Gloria's medical history that are not addressed by a medical examiner. Gloria suffered from giardia when she was adopted, an infection that was hard to remove entirely. He also conducted a recent blood test that showed very low levels of leukocytes that may be a sign of the condition of the spinal cord. In addition, Gloria suffered from vitamin D deficiency.
The medical examiner's report also did not mention testing vitreous humor, clear gel in the eye, which is the standard way to diagnose dehydration. Gloria's body fluids are tested only for drugs, toxins and semen, and all negative tests.
Due to the inconclusive autopsy result, the cause of death for Gloria was never fixed by the prosecutor. Despite not having this crucial evidence to pursue the murder charge, prosecutors insist that the parent intentionally hurt their daughter.
Trial
In the June 18, 2013 trial, several witnesses testified for prosecution. A police detective from the criminal investigation department said that according to information collected from "intelligence sources we knew that the defendant had taken a candy out of the girl's hand, and grounded her for eating it."
On the issue of adoption, Ahmad Issac's detective Hamoudah Abu Zoro told the court, "As you know, the dead child has black skin, is very thin while his parents are white.Apparents who want to adopt children should be selective so they are supposed to be children beautiful. "Adoption outside the biological family does not occur in Qatar or other Gulf Arab communities.
The California Innocence Project claims that the Qatari police records state that it is strange that Asia Huang has adopted black children who are not "handsome" and who do not share their "inherited traits".
In addition, Dr. Anis Mahmoud Khalifa, the medical examiner who conducted the Gloria autopsy, publicly told the court, "I never mentioned in my report or the statement of the word" hunger "but the elaborate," contrary to the basis of prosecution for demanding his parents by starving Gloria to death.
Request to cancel the suit against the American partner was denied and the guarantee rejected.
On Tuesday, October 1, 2013, Judge Abdullah Al-Emady ordered Huangs to remain imprisoned until at least the next hearing, scheduled for November 6, 2013. The official raised questions about Huang paying the adoption fee to an adoption agency. After Tuesday's hearing, Matthew proclaimed his innocence.
On March 27, 2014, Matthew and Grace were each sentenced to three years in prison and 15,000 Riyal fines of Qatar. No verdict is read by the judge. The couple was not arrested, awaiting an appeal, but remains forbidden to leave the country. The travel ban contradicts the precedent set at the fire of the Villagio Mall, where 5 Qatis are sentenced to 6 years in prison after being found guilty of murder for negligence, but allowed to travel without restriction during appeal. The US State Department issued a statement after a judicial announcement, noting that they were "shocked and disappointed" by the results.
A few weeks later, the defendants were informed that they had been found guilty of harming children, a crime different from what was originally charged and prosecuted.
Court of Appeal
After two procedural trials in which the defense of defense and prosecution were both heard and accepted, the accusations were merged into an appeal hearing on June 16, 2014. In the hearing, the defense argued for the closure of the appeal for the verdict and presented the closing arguments and written arguments. The prosecutor asked a forensic pathologist who performed the original autopsy to testify again before the appeals court. The judges conferred and accepted the prosecutor's movement, and set the date of the next trial for October 20, 2014, spanning more than 4 months waiting for Matthew and Grace, while unable to travel home.
During this time, the US State Department issued its first public support statement for Huang:
On July 30, 2014, Deputy Secretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman and Assistant Secretary of Near Eastern Affairs Anne Patterson met with family and representatives of US citizens Matthew and Grace Huang about the ongoing legal process in Qatar following the tragic death of their daughter Gloria.
Under Secretary Sherman expressed concern for Huang's family's well-being, adding that helping US citizens in need abroad is one of the department's highest priorities.
Senior US Government officials have raised Huang's case with the Qatari Government on various occasions, and the State Department will continue to engage Qatari officials at the highest level. We seek the help of the Government of Qatar in providing a fair and quick conclusion to the process. We also urge the Government of Qatar to lift the current travel ban and allow Mr and Mrs. Huang returned to the United States to be reunited with their two sons and their entire family. "
The Department of Foreign Affairs then issued a follow-up statement on October 6, 2014:
The US government continues to closely follow the legal proceedings in Qatar of American citizens Matthew and Grace Huang, whose appeals are set for October 20. Mr. and Mrs. Huang have been detained in Qatar since the tragic death of their daughters in January 2013.
The US government urges the Government of Qatar to immediately lift the travel ban and allow Mr. and Mrs. Huang to return to the United States on a humanitarian basis to reunite with their children and families, pending the completion of the legal process. We continue to call upon the Government of Qatar to bring the case to a quick and precise conclusion. "
On October 20, 2014, the first trial appeal for Huang's case began. In court, the prosecutor re-examined a forensic pathologist, who read his testimony from a document on the podium. The witness opposed the previous testimony with no food or water in Gloria's intestines, and it was not his duty to determine whether he died of starvation. When Huang's lawyer started cross-examination of the witness, he was stopped by a judge, and was not allowed to complete the assignment for his client. During the last argument of the prosecutor stating that the children had been bought and that they had killed their daughter, Matthew shouted, "You're lying! You're lying!" in the prosecutor's office, which surprised the courtroom. The judges then closed the argument part of the appeals court and set the verdict for November 30, 2014.
Company pressures to get back to work
The new element is an increasingly bitter legal dispute with American employer Matthew Huang, MWH Global, who asks - now he's out of jail - Matthew returns to work or loses wages and further benefits. In what employers call a personnel issue and Matthew Huang calls unrealistic requests leading to his forced dismissal, he resigns.
Representation
Because of the outstanding medical evidence from Matthew and Grace Huang innocent, they have been pro bono clients of the California Innocence Project (part of Innocence Project based in California's Western School of Law in San Diego) since June 2013. Huangs is also represented by Lewis and Roca.
Huang's case is run by the Los Angeles-based David House Agency, an international crisis resource agency that has handled other important cases such as the case of American climber in Iran, Amanda Knox and Jason Puracal.
Petition to Qatar
The official petition written by Grace's sister has been posted to Change.org. The petition is addressed to US Secretary of State John Kerry, US Ambassador to Qatar Susan L. Ziadeh, and Qatar State Ambassador Mohammed Jaham Al Kuwari. The request is for these individuals to force the Qatari government to end the imprisonment they consider wrong in Matthew and Grace, and allow them to be reunited with their sons in the United States.
See also
- 2022 FIFA World Cup
- Children's rights
- Human rights in Qatar
- Interracial adoption
- International implementation
- Villagio Mall
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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