A California couple was blocked from exiting Qatar hours after being freed from jail there for the alleged January 2013 death of their adopted daughter, The Associated Press reported.

An appeals court overturned the ruling against the couple, Matthew and Grace Huang, closing the case that may have stemmed from cultural misunderstandings, and dropping the child endangerment charges. Still, the couple was barred from leaving the country when they reached the airport.

A representative for the Los Angeles couple said their passports had been confiscated.

"It has been a long and emotional trial for me and my family, and Grace and I want to go home and be reunited with our sons," Matthew Huang told reporters after the ruling, according to USA Today. "We have been unable to grieve our daughter."

Their daughter, Gloria, 8, died from medical problems and complications, including unusual eating habits that alternated between binging and self-starvation. This unusual combination was characterized by the prosecution in the case as a result of the couple's treatment of their daughter.

The prosecution said that Gloria died after being locked in her room and being denied food.

The Huangs had been pressing Qatari officials, unsuccessfully, for permission to return back to their home where they have two other adopted children, both African-born.

The U.S. government tried to add pressure to Qatar to deal with the situation quickly. U.S. officials and the State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki urged Qatar to allow the couple to leave immediately.

Psaki said Qatar needed to bring the case to "an expeditious and just conclusion."

The Huangs were first sentenced to three years in prison in March, but had been free on bail pending the appeal. They were first jailed for murder charges. They were not able to leave Qatar to be reunited with their two other adopted children.

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