US couple asks Qatar to free them from jail as they battle case over adopted daughter's death
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An American couple charged with starving to death their adopted daughter is asking a Qatar court to release them from prison as they pursue their legal battle, insisting their African-born child died of medical problems complicated by her anorexia-like bouts.
The case has brought assistance from U.S.-based groups and highlights possible cultural misunderstandings in a Gulf nation unfamiliar with adoption and cross-cultural families.
Matthew and Grace Huang's lawyers on Wednesday asked for their release and brought witnesses who testified that 8-year-old Gloria appeared healthy and active just days before her death in January.
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Prosecutors allege the couple denied food to their daughter, who was born in Ghana and adopted at age 4.
They couple moved from California in 2012, after Matthew Huang took a job on water projects in Qatar.