US couple cleared by Qatar return to Los Angeles

Matthew and Grace Huang are shown aboard an airliner leaving Doha in this handout photo provided by The David House Agency on Wednesday. -- Reuters

Reuters/Los Angeles

An American couple convicted and later cleared of wrongdoing in the death of their adopted African-born daughter in Qatar returned to Los Angeles on Thursday afternoon, a family spokesman said on Twitter.

Matthew and Grace Huang left Doha on Wednesday after a ban on their travel was lifted.

"Mission accomplished. Matt and Grace are in Los Angeles. They have not stopped smiling," spokesman Eric Volz said in a tweet.

He later tweeted that the Huangs were "on their way to be reunited with their sons."

A website created to publicise the case said the Huangs had moved to Qatar so that Matthew Huang, a Stanford-trained engineer, could work on a project related to the 2022 World Cup.

The Huangs were arrested in January 2013.

A Qatar appeals court threw out the convictions against the couple on Sunday.