American couple Matthew and Grace Huang fought the Qatari legal system for nearly two years over allegations that they starved their adopted daughter to death . Now cleared , they have begun their journey home to the United States . The Huangs left Qatar on a plane Wednesday afternoon , three days after an appellate court cleared them in the January 2013 death of their 8-year-old daughter , family spokesman Eric Volz said on Twitter . `` Thank you to all the silent heroes on this one . Wheels are up , '' tweeted Volz , who works with the international crisis resource group David House Agency , which helped with the Huangs ' court case in Qatar . Volz , tweeting from the plane , also posted a picture of the couple aboard the aircraft . An appeals judge in Qatar on Sunday cleared the Huangs of starving their adopted daughter to death in 2013 in a case that drew global attention to that country 's justice system . Despite the ruling , the Huangs were blocked from leaving Qatar at Hamad International Airport by immigration officials who confiscated their passports , according to the Doha News agency , which cited Volz . Diplomatic sources said Monday the departure was delayed due only to legal procedures that take place once people have been cleared of a crime . On Tuesday , U.S . Ambassador to Qatar Dana Smith said a travel ban against the couple was lifted following a motion that was filed Monday , and after talks between Smith and top Qatari officials . The Huangs , who were living in Qatar while Matthew Huang worked for an international company that was constructing sites for the 2022 World Cup , were arrested in January 2013 when their 8-year-old daughter Gloria died . They were charged with starving her to death , convicted in March and sentenced to three years in prison . The Qatari prosecutor sought to paint the Huangs as inhumane -- alleging they bought their adopted daughter cheaply from her poverty-stricken parents in Africa -- and had threatened to seek human trafficking charges . The couple spent nearly a year in prison before being freed in November 2013 to await proceedings surrounding an appeal that they filed . Appellate Judge Abdulrahman al-Sharafi overturned the conviction on Sunday , citing weaknesses in forensic reports and saying the trial judge failed to properly consider testimony from witnesses who said Gloria was n't deprived . A report by pathologists hired by the defense , obtained by CNN , stated they found no evidence that tissue samples were taken from Gloria 's body after her death , despite that Qatari investigators submitted an autopsy report . Advocates for the Huangs suggested the lab report was fabricated and said their request with the Qatari judiciary for a formal investigation went unanswered . After the couple 's arrest , their two sons , also adopted from Africa , were temporarily placed in a Qatari orphanage . They have since been sent back to the United States to live with Grace Huang 's mother .
Family spokesman tweets photo of Matthew and Grace Huang on plane headed home . Huangs leave Qatar after appellate court clears them in death of 8-year-old daughter . There was delay in lifting travel ban that diplomatic sources blame on legal procedures . TL;DR The U.S. State Department has lifted a visa restriction for the parents of an American girl who died while traveling with her family from China to Qatar.