Couple Convicted Overseas after Death of their Adopted Daughter

A couple from Los Angeles was arrested by Qatar authorities after their adopted daughter died of what appeared to be neglect. The couple, M.H. and his wife G.H., had been living in Qatar with their three adopted children because M.H. was hired as part of the engineering team working on various projects associated with the 2022 World Cup. They had adopted their daughter from Ghana at the age of four and stated that she had numerous physical conditions due to her malnourished state. They had worked to get her into better health over the four years that had passed since her adoption and were devastated when she apparently succumbed to those malnutrition-related diseases and died suddenly in January last year. An autopsy was performed by a Qatari medical examiner who determined that she had died of "cachexia (severe loss of body mass) and dehydration". The parents were arrested the following day on charges of "murder with intent by forced starvation". M.H. and G.H. were imprisoned and their other two children, sons, were placed in an orphanage. Eventually they were able to arrange the children's grandmother to come to Qatar to take custody of the two boys and bring them back to the U.S. Although they vehemently denied trying to starve their daughter, Qatari authorities on the case maintained that they had purposely murdered their adopted daughter possibly "in order to harvest her organs or to conduct medical experiments". The parents were imprisoned for about a year before the charges were reduced to murder by negligence and the couple was released on their own recognizance (but barred from leaving Qatar). They were recently found guilty of the charges against them much to their shock and horror. U.S. government officials have been involved in the incident and a spokesperson with the State Department said there are indications that not all evidence was duly weighed in the trial and that there were some cultural misunderstandings. An appeal is being pursued. Consult with a qualified family law attorney immediately if you are in need of skilled representation for issues concerning child custody, domestic abuse or other related matters.

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