STORY: "US urges Qatar to lift travel ban on Americans appealing murder charge," published by Arabian Business on August 4, 2014.
GIST: "Matthew and Grace Huang were sentenced to three years’ in jail after
eight-year-old Gloria, who was adopted from Ghana, died in January,
2013.
The US government has called on Qatar to lift a travel ban on an
American couple currently appealing a three year jail sentence for
allegedly causing their adopted daughter to starve to death. In March, Matthew and Grace Huang were sentenced to three years’ in
jail after eight-year-old Gloria, who was adopted from Ghana, died in
January, 2013. An autopsy found she had died of "cachexia (an irreversible loss of
body mass) and dehydration", while the prosecutor charged the couple
with "murder with intent by forced starvation". Late last week, family representatives met with US Under Secretary
for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman and Assistant Secretary for Near
Eastern Affairs Anne Patterson regarding the ongoing legal proceedings
in Qatar.........The couple, whose other adopted children have been allowed to return to the US, are on bail while their appeal is being heard. They argue that their daughter Gloria suffered an eating disorder
related to her trauma while living in a refugee camp in Africa and that
the Qatari authorities had failed to acknowledge this. Witnesses
testified that Gloria was smiling and walking before she died. During the opening session, the Qatari prosecutor said the pair
needed to be made an example of and should not be on bail during the
appeal. He also revealed he was considering reviving human trafficking
charges, based on the court’s conclusion "that the murder may have been
done in order to harvest her organs or to conduct medical experiments on
her". The case has raised concern in the US, including in Washington and among rights activists. Following the initial verdict, the US State Department said
Washington was concerned by "indications that not all of the evidence
was being weighed by the court and that cultural misunderstandings may
have been leading to an unfair trial". The couple spent nearly a year in prison before being released but are not allowed to leave Qatar."
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/us-urges-qatar-lift-travel-ban-on-americans-appealing-murder-charge-559975.html
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
I
have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses
several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of
the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this
powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and
myself get more out of the site.
The
Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible
years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr.
Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of
Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic"
section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It
can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
I look forward to hearing from readers at:
hlevy15@gmail.com.
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;
