An American couple who were cleared in the death of their adopted child by a court in Qatar have filed suit against the husband's company upon returning to the US.
Matthew and Grace Huang, both Christians, were convicted and later cleared in the death of their adopted African-born daughter, Gloria, in Qatar.
They are suing Matthew Huang's former employer, saying the engineering company essentially abandoned them after they were arrested.
They also charge that MWH Global asked them to relocate to Qatar in 2012 to work on an infrastructure project related to the 2022 World Cup without warning them of hostility they could face as an interracial family living in the tiny Gulf Arab state.
"Plaintiffs were unaware of the dangers and nightmare that awaited them in Qatar," lawyers for the couple wrote in their 22-page Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit, which seeks compensatory and punitive damages for negligence, wrongful termination and infliction of emotional distress.
MWH Global, which according to its website is a "wet infrastructure" firm specialising in water and hydropower engineering projects, said in a statement that the company was disappointed in the lawsuit and had provided support to the Huangs following their arrest.
"We contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars toward the cost of Matt's criminal defense including retaining legal and medical experts in the US to bolster the legal defencee in Qatar," the Colorado-based company said.
MWH Global also said that Matthew Huang did not respond to its attempts to contact him following his release from prison in November 2013 and chose to resign rather than return to work.
The Huangs were arrested in January 2013 after an autopsy found their 8-year-old daughter, Gloria, died of dehydration and cachexia, an irreversible loss of body mass. The couple said Gloria suffered from malnutrition-related diseases since they adopted her from Ghana at age 4.
Matthew and Grace Huang had initially been charged with murder and were convicted of lesser child-endangerment charges earlier this year in connection with Gloria's death, according to a support website for the family.
Those convictions were later thrown out by an appeals court.
US State Department officials had expressed concerns that cultural misunderstandings could have played a role in the couple's prosecution in a country unaccustomed to multiracial families and adoption.
The Huangs returned to Los Angeles last week from Qatar after the government there lifted a travel ban, ending a nearly two-year ordeal.
Their return was celebrated by some 3,000 people at a jubilant service at their Los Angeles-area church, where Matthew Huang thanked the congregation for their support.
Source: Reuters
