diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_monitor.c b/src/qemu/qemu_monitor.c
index da380961a0..dc0859408c 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_monitor.c
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_monitor.c
@@ -239,7 +239,8 @@ qemuMonitorUnwatch(void *monitor)
     qemuMonitorPtr mon = monitor;
 
     qemuMonitorLock(mon);
-    qemuMonitorUnref(mon);
+    if (qemuMonitorUnref(mon) > 0)
+        qemuMonitorUnlock(mon);
 }
 
 static int