U.S. couple gets three years in Qatari jail for adopted child’s death

A Los Angeles couple was sentenced to three years in jail in Qatar on Thursday for causing the death of their adopted African-born daughter, who was found to have died of starvation, in a case that has raised concern in Washington. Matthew and Grace Huang were arrested in January last year after their 8-year-old daughter, Gloria, died unexpectedly. “We have just been wrongfully convicted and we feel as if we are being kidnapped by the Qatar judicial system,” Matthew Huang said. “This verdict is wrong and appears to be nothing more than an effort to save face.” A website created to publicize the case ( http://freemattandgrace.com ) said Matthew, a Stanford-trained engineer, had moved to Qatar with his wife and their three young children in 2012 to help oversee a big infrastructure project related to the 2022 soccer World Cup.