I will be very shortly to fix lunch.
Related: Qatar Keeps American Couple in Country
"Qatar bars US couple from leaving after acquittal" by Abdullah RebhyAssociated Press December 01, 2014
DOHA, Qatar — An American couple cleared Sunday by a Qatari appeals court of wrongdoing in the death of their 8-year-old adopted daughter were barred from leaving the Middle Eastern country a few hours after they were told they were free to go.
Matthew and Grace Huang were stopped from leaving the conservative Gulf nation and had their passports confiscated as they tried to pass through airport immigration control in the capital, Doha, said family representative Eric Volz, who is traveling with them.
The unexpected delay adds a new twist to a closely watched legal saga about the death of their adopted daughter, Gloria, that may have stemmed from cultural misunderstandings.
The Los Angeles couple had been banned from leaving the energy-rich OPEC nation while their case made its way through the courts, but the appeals court ruled Sunday they were free to leave after the presiding judge overturned a child endangerment conviction against them.
They were met at the airport by US Ambassador Dana Shell Smith, reflecting the intensity of American government interest in the case.
Secretary of State John Kerry welcomed the court’s decision to overturn the Huangs’ conviction but said the United States was ‘‘deeply concerned about new delays that have prevented their departure.’’
Kerry said he had spoken Sunday with Foreign Minister Khalid al-Attiya and urged the Qatari government to immediately implement the court’s decision and allow the family to return ‘‘without further delay.’’
The Huangs spent months behind bars before being let out on their own recognizance late last year. They were convicted in March of this year of child endangerment and sentenced to three years in prison. They were allowed to remain free pending their appeal.
A doctor in Qatar who conducted Gloria’s autopsy determined that dehydration and wasting disease were the cause of death. The Huangs have maintained their innocence and say Gloria suffered from medical problems that were complicated by unusual eating habits that included periods of binging and self-starvation. Prosecutors alleged she died after being denied food and locked in her room.
The Huangs have two other children adopted from African nations and have been pressing Qatari officials unsuccessfully for permission to leave the country to be with them.
‘‘It has been a long and emotional trial for me and my family, and Grace and I want to go home and be reunited with our sons,’’ Matthew Huang said shortly after the ruling.
--more--"
I'm also getting close to calling it quits here, dearly beloved readers. I'm thinking of doing a "Done Blogging For December" post explaining why (although I think you can guess) and taking some much needed rest after eight years of almost daily posting.
NEXT DAY UPDATE: U.S. Teacher Slain in Abu Dhabi Mall Bathroom
FURTHER UPDATES:
Emirates police make arrest in American’s stabbing as authorities moved swiftly to calm fears of instability in the normally peaceful Gulf nation. Word of the gruesome killing, which left a trail of blood in a public restroom at an Abu Dhabi mall, has rattled the Emirates, a Western-allied, seven-state Gulf federation that includes the glitzy commercial hub of Dubai.
Violent crime and terrorist attacks are rare in the oil-rich country, which is home to a large foreign-born population that far outnumbers Emirati citizens. Police say the teacher was fatally stabbed by a butcher-knife wielding attacker clothed in the full black veil commonly worn by women in the region.
Another Rigby fraud and fake psyop or what?
Exonerated in Qatar, American couple head home
Church hails Qatar detainees’ return
