Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca8-06-02420/USCOURTS-ca8-06-02420-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Berhane Kifle Gebresadik
Petitioner
Alberto Gonzales
Respondent

Document Text:

United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

___________

No. 06-2420

___________

Berhane Kifle Gebresadik, *

*

Petitioner, *

* Petition for Review of an Order

v. * of the Board of Immigration Appeals.

*

Alberto Gonzales, Attorney General *

of the United States of America, *

*

Respondent. *

___________

Submitted: March 16, 2007

Filed: June 21, 2007

___________

Before WOLLMAN, JOHN R. GIBSON, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges.

___________

WOLLMAN, Circuit Judge.

Berhane Gebresadik petitions for review of an order of the Board of

Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirming an Immigration Judge’s (IJ) denial of her

application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention

Against Torture (CAT). We deny the petition. 

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I.

Gebresadik, a native and citizen of Ethiopia, was born to an ethnic Amhara

father and an Eritrean mother. She entered the United States as a non-immigrant

visitor in March 2000. She remained beyond her authorized stay, and removal

proceedings were commenced against her in May 2001. Gebresadik conceded that she

was removable, but applied for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under

CAT. 

Gebresadik’s application was largely based on her claim that she was

persecuted by individuals affiliated with the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary

Democratic Front (EPRDF) because of her involvement in the All Amhara People’s

Organization (AAPO), a group she joined on April 16, 1992, so that she could help

oppose the persecution of the Amhara people and promote a united Ethiopia.

According to Gebresadik’s application and testimony, she served as an organizer of

a 200-person AAPO demonstration the day she joined. She also helped collect money

and distribute leaflets for the organization. Gebresadik stated that because of her

involvement with the AAPO, two EPRDF security agents entered her home on April

25, 1992, arrested her, and took her to jail, where she was tortured and interrogated.

The agents reportedly claimed that the donations gathered on April 16, 1992, were

used to buy weapons for anti-government activities and demanded that Gebresadik

identify other activists. Gebresadik further asserted that on April 30, 1992, two

gunmen, who identified themselves as members of “Harnet Tigray” (the freedom

fighters of the Tigray people), entered her cell, blindfolded her, and shouted that she

was an informant for the AAPO who had betrayed her Eritrean heritage. She said that

one of these men then tore her clothes, raped her, and spit on her. Gebresadik also

testified that her interrogators accused her of performing intelligence work for

Eritreans. 

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According to Gebresadik, she was eventually released from jail on September

15, 1992. She stayed away from all AAPO functions and members thereafter, and the

incident was never reported to the AAPO. She left Ethiopia in December 1992 and

went to Egypt, where she worked as a servant until her arrival in the United States.

Despite Gebresadik’s absence from Ethiopia, her father, who remained in Ethiopia,

reported that men have continued to come to his home looking for her. 

Gebresadik also asserted in her application and testimony that she believed she

would face persecution due to her Eritrean heritage if she were to return to Ethiopia.

She reported that relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea deteriorated after she left

Ethiopia and that Ethiopians of Eritrean origin were being arrested and deported to

Eritrea. Individuals that she alleged had been deported to Eritrea included her mother,

who reportedly died shortly after being deported, and Habtemickeal Asnakie, the

father of her two children. Gebresadik’s father feared that because of Gebresadik’s

Eritrean heritage, she would also be deported if she returned to Ethiopia.

Attached to Gebresadik’s application were various documents, one of which

was an October 2002 letter from Wondayehu Kassa, the AAPO representative from

North America, whom Gebresadik said she had met during the demonstration in 1992.

The letter stated that Gebresadik had been subjected to mistreatment and injustices at

the hands of EPRDF agents, but did not mention her arrest. Another document was

an affidavit from an individual who reportedly knew Gebresadik in Ethiopia. The

affidavit recounted the same information listed in Gebresadik’s affidavit regarding her

AAPO involvement and arrest. Gebresadik also submitted a copy of her passport,

birth certificate, and various reports and articles that contained country information

for Ethiopia and Eritrea. 

On December 23, 2002, the IJ denied Gebresadik’s application. In his decision,

the IJ questioned Gebresadik’s credibility and the plausibility of her claims. The IJ

noted that Gebresadik had initially testified at the hearing that her AAPO involvement

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1

The BIA had initially affirmed the IJ’s decision, concluding that even if

Gebresadik’s testimony was deemed credible and even if she had established past

persecution, her claim would fail because there had been a fundamental change in

circumstances and internal relocation was appropriate. After a reconsideration of the

decision pursuant to Gebresadik’s motion, however, the BIA concluded that it had

misinterpreted a Department of State Report that it relied on in its initial affirmance

and remanded the case to the IJ.

-4-

and subsequent arrest took place in March of 1992, but then corrected it to reflect that

it had occurred in April. The IJ also stated that Ethiopia and Eritrea were allies in

1992 and that he therefore did not “understand why the respondent would be

questioned as to being involved with Eritrean intelligence at that time.” He further

thought it “seem[ed] a bit implausible . . . that a person would be given a position of

authority, in organizing a demonstration on the very same day the person joined the

political organization,” and that it was “just not plausible . . . that Ethiopian authorities

would still be looking for the respondent 10 years after her brief period of AAPO

involvement.” The IJ also commented on the insufficient corroborating evidence

supplied by Gebresadik. He noted that she provided no contemporaneous objective

documentation of her joining the AAPO, and he also discounted the value of the letter

from the AAPO representative because it did not mention anything about her being

arrested and because Gebresadik had testified that she never told the AAPO of the

events when they occurred. In addition, the IJ commented that “the evidence

regarding respondent’s connections to Eritrea are (sic) quite limited.” For these

reasons, the IJ ultimately concluded that Gebresadik had not met her burden of proof.

The BIA eventually remanded the case to the IJ.1

 On remand, Gebresadik was

permitted to submit additional evidence, and another hearing was held. During this

process, Gebresadik asserted that she had suffered not just one but five sexual assaults

during her time in prison. Most of the other evidence presented by Gebresadik was

the same as that provided in her original application. The IJ once again denied

Gebresadik’s application, specifically incorporating its prior decision and also noting

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that Gebresadik had “really not offered any new evidence to support her claim” or

“offered any corroborating evidence going to her AAPO activities, or to her Eritrean

ethnicity.” The BIA affirmed the IJ’s decision.

II.

Gebresadik contends that the IJ and BIA erred in denying her application for

asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under CAT. “We review the IJ’s

decision directly where, as here, the BIA adopts and affirms it,” Aziz v. Gonzales,

478 F.3d 854, 857 (8th Cir. 2007), and will “defer to the IJ’s findings of fact and

disposition of the case unless the record evidence is ‘so compelling that no reasonable

factfinder could fail to find [the petitioner] eligible for asylum, withholding of

deportation, or relief under the Convention Against Torture.’” Onsongo v. Gonzales,

457 F.3d 849, 852 (8th Cir. 2006) (alteration in original) (quoting Habtemicael v.

Ashcroft, 370 F.3d 774, 779 (8th Cir. 2004)). 

A.

To be eligible for asylum, a petitioner must show that he or she is a refugee –

a person “who is unable or unwilling to return to his country of nationality ‘because

of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion,

nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.’” Berte v.

Ashcroft, 396 F.3d 993, 996 (8th Cir. 2005) (quoting 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(42)(A)). To

establish a well-founded fear of future persecution, the fear must be “both subjectively

genuine and objectively reasonable.” Eta-Ndu v. Gonzales, 411 F.3d 977, 983 (8th

Cir. 2005). A petitioner who is able to establish past persecution is “entitled to a

presumption of a well-founded fear of future persecution, which can be rebutted by

evidence that country conditions have changed.” Lengkong v. Gonzales, 478 F.3d

859, 862 (8th Cir. 2007). 

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As recounted above, Gebresadik’s claims of past and future persecution were

discounted by the IJ because he questioned her credibility and because of the lack of

corroborating evidence. We will uphold an IJ’s adverse credibility determinations as

long as “they are supported by specific, cogent reasons for disbelief.” Celaj v.

Gonzales, 468 F.3d 1094, 1097 (8th Cir. 2006). Further, “[o]ur court has held that an

IJ may properly base a credibility finding on the ‘implausibility’ of an alien’s

testimony, as long as the IJ gives specific and convincing reasons for disbelief.”

Mamana v. Gonzales, 436 F.3d 966, 968 (8th Cir. 2006). “[A]n IJ’s adverse

credibility findings ‘are conclusive unless any reasonable adjudicator would be

compelled to conclude to the contrary.’” Id. (quoting Turay v. Ashcroft, 405 F.3d

663, 668 (8th Cir. 2005)).

After reviewing the record, we are satisfied that the IJ gave satisfactory reasons

for questioning Gebresadik’s credibility, particularly as it pertains to her claim of past

persecution. We agree with the IJ’s assertion that it is implausible for the AAPO to

have given Gebresadik the authority to organize a 200-person AAPO demonstration

on the very day she joined the organization. Moreover, despite the fact that the IJ

expressed disbelief on this matter in his initial decision, Gebresadik offered no

evidence on reconsideration that would tend to diminish the implausibility of her

contention. In addition, and despite Gebresadik’s assertion to the contrary, it was not

unreasonable for the IJ to question Gebresadik’s credibility based on her claim that

she had been accused during her detention of being an Eritrean spy, as the country

reports included in Gebresadik’s application showed that the controlling governments

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The reports reveal that in 1992 Ethiopia and Eritrea were still one country and

that the EPRDF and the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) had just recently

ousted former President Mengistu’s regime. A.R. 1320, 1391, and 1548. These

reports also show that in 1992 the EPRDF, which headed the Transitional Government

of Ethiopia, was sympathetic to Eritrean independence and accepted the EPLF as the

provisional government of Ethiopia. Id.

3

Gebresadik additionally asserts that it was erroneous for the IJ to question her

credibility based on her initial misstatement of the month of her AAPO involvement

and arrest at her first IJ hearing. After a review of the transcript, we agree with

Gebresadik that this appears to have been a simple misstatement and does not

necessarily support an adverse credibility determination. In any event, this does not

appear to have been an essential factor in the IJ’s determination, and we are satisfied

that the other credibility issues addressed by the IJ are sufficient to support his

credibility assessments. 

4

The IJ noted that while the AAPO letter did state that Gebresadik was a victim

of mistreatment and injustice at the hands of EPRDF Security agents, this information

must have been provided to the AAPO representative by Gebresadik in 2002 because

she stated that she had not told the AAPO of these events.

-7-

of Ethiopia and Eritrea were in cooperation in 1992.2

 We consequently cannot say

that it was unreasonable for the IJ to question Gebresadik’s credibility.3

We also cannot say that it was unreasonable for the IJ to state that the lack of

corroborating evidence is detrimental to Gebresadik’s claim of past persecution. As

we have noted, the “lack of corroboration . . . combined with other credibility issues,

can provide support for an adverse credibility finding.” Onsongo, 457 F.3d at 855.

Gebresadik did not provide any contemporaneous objective documentation regarding

her joining the AAPO. In addition, the IJ found the AAPO letter from Kassa to have

little value because it did not mention her arrest and because Gebresadik had testified

that she had met Kassa only once, on April 16, 1992, and had not seen him since.4

The only other piece of corroborating evidence that Gebresadik provided regarding

her AAPO membership or her arrest was an affidavit from an Ethiopian acquaintance.

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We reject Gebresadik’s argument that the IJ wrongly excluded her alleged

physical evidence of torture. At her March 30, 2005, evidentiary hearing, Gebresadik

attempted to disrobe and show the IJ a scar that she claimed to have received during

her detention in Ethiopia. The IJ prevented her from doing so. This decision was not

erroneous, particularly in light of the fact that Gebresadik was permitted to testify

about the scar. At the same hearing, Gebresadik also attempted to obtain a

continuance to procure expert testimony regarding her scar. This request was also

denied by the IJ. As we have previously recognized, we have “no jurisdiction to

review an IJ’s purely discretionary decision to deny a continuance of a removal

hearing, unless that ruling resulted in such procedural unfairness as to implicate due

process,” Grass v. Gonzales, 418 F.3d 876, 879 (8th Cir. 2005), cert. denied, 126 S.

Ct. 1793 (2006), which Gebresadik does not allege here.

-8-

The IJ found the corroborating evidence to be insufficient in this case, and we cannot

say that the record compels a contrary finding. The IJ also noted that Gebresadik had

failed to offer additional corroborating evidence regarding her AAPO activities or

detention during her remand proceeding. While we recognize that “petitioners cannot

be expected to get substantial documentation from their persecutors,” Ombongi v.

Gonzales, 417 F.3d 823, 826 (8th Cir. 2005), we believe that the lack of corroboration

here, combined with the credibility issues discussed above, provides a reasonable

basis for undermining the credibility of Gebresadik’s claim of past persecution.5

We also believe that it was reasonable for the IJ to discount Gebresadik’s claims

of future persecution, especially in light of the credibility concerns addressed above.

In regard to future persecution based on AAPO membership, the IJ found it

implausible that Ethiopian authorities would still be interested in her, because it had

been more than ten years since her brief involvement with the AAPO, she had not

been politically active since her detention, and she had been given an exit visa to leave

Ethiopia. In regard to future persecution based on her Eritrean heritage, the IJ noted

that the evidence was rather limited. We cannot conclude that the record compels a

contrary conclusion. 

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At oral argument, Gebresadik asserted that on remand the IJ should have

performed an analysis regarding her ability to relocate internally. Because this

argument was raised for the first time at oral argument and was not briefed, it is

waived. See Twin Cities Galleries, LLC v. Media Arts Group, Inc., 476 F.3d 598, 602

n.1 (8th Cir. 2007). 

-9-

After considering the record as a whole, we conclude that there was sufficient

evidence to support the IJ’s conclusion that because Gebresadik failed to meet her

burden of proof, she is not eligible for asylum.6

 

B.

Because Gebresadik has failed to meet the standard for asylum, she also fails

to meet the more rigorous standard for withholding of removal. See Turay, 405 F.3d

at 667. Furthermore, the conclusions that support a denial of Gebresadik’s asylum and

withholding of removal claims also support the denial of her CAT claims. See Ming

Ming Wijono v. Gonzales, 439 F.3d 868, 874 (8th Cir. 2006).

The petition for relief is denied. 

______________________________

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