FILED U.S. COURT OF AP P EALS E LEVEN T HC IRC U IT NOVEMB ER 29, 2006 THOMAS K. KAH

N CLERK [ DO NO T P UB L I S H] I N THE UN I TE D STATE S C OU RT OF APPE ALS F O R T H E E L E V E N T H C IR C U IT

________________________ N o. 06- 12366 N on -A rgum entC al endar

________________________ B I A N o. A 79- 433- 272 E D M O N D C E N O L L I , P e titio n e r , v ersu s U .S . A T T O RN E Y G E N E R A L , R e s p o n d e n t.

________________________ P e t i t i on f orR e vi e w of

aD e c i s i on of

the B o a r d o f I m m ig r a tio n A p p e a ls

_________________________ ( N ove m b e r 29, 2006) B efo re T JO F L A T , B IR C H an d F A Y , C i rcu i tJu d g es. P E R C U R I A M:2

E dm ond C e nol l i , ana t i ve a nd c i t i z e n of A l ba ni a , pe t i t i ons f

orr e vi e w of

the B o a r d o f I m m ig r a tio n A p p e a ls ’ ( “B I A ” ) d e n ia l o f a s y lu m , w ith h o ld in g o f r e m o v a l, a n d r e lie f

u n d e rth e U n ite d N a tio n s C o n v e n tio n A g a in s t T o rtu r e a n d O th e rC ru e l, I nhum a n orD e gr a di ng T r e a tm e ntorP uni s hm e nt( “ C A T ” ) . C e nol l i c ha l l e nge s the B I A ’s d e n ia l o f

h is c la im s a n d a ls o a r g u e s th a t h e w a s d e n ie d af a irr e v ie w o f

h is ap p e a l f r o m th e I m m ig r a tio n J u d g e ’s ( “I J ” ) d e c is io n . F o rth e r e a s o n s s e t f o rth m or e f ul l y be l ow , w e de ny the pe t i t i on. C e nol l i , am e m be rof

the oppos i t i on de m oc r a t i c pa rty , a l l e ge d pe r s e c ut i on b y th e p o lic e a n d m e m b e r s o f th e s o c ia lis t p a rty o n a c c o u n t o f p o litic a l o p in io n . C e nol l i t e s t i f

i e d tha tthe onl y pr obl e m he ha d i n A l ba ni aoc c urr e d dur i ng the J une 24, 2001 e l e c t i on. H e e xpl a i ne d tha t , dur i ng the e l e c t i on, he w a s a n obs e rve rf or the dem ocra t i c party and , w hi l e w ai t i ng i n l i ne t o v ot e, a s oci al i stparty m em ber appr oa c he d hi m a nd tr i e d t o c onvi nc e hi m t o c ha nge hi s vot e . W he n he r e f us e d, the soci al i stparty m em ber c al l ed tw o m em bers of the po l i ce , w ho hi tand k i cked h im . C e n o lli le f

t A lb a n iath e n e x t d a y . In addi t i on t o thi s i nci dent , C enol l i t es t i fi ed thathi s f ather, a party m em ber a n d lo c a l s p o k e s m a n , w a s a rr e s te d th r e e tim e s b y th e p o lic e a n d s o c ia lis t p a rty s upport e r s be c aus e of

hi s s upportf

orthe de m oc r a t i c pa rty . O n O c t obe r19, 1998, hi s f ather w as det ai ned for a w ee k, m i stre at ed, and n otfe d. In June 19 99 , he w as d e ta in e d f

o rf o u rd a y s . I n S e p te m b e r2 0 0 1 , h e w a s d e ta in e d f o ro v e raw e e k .3

T he IJdeni ed as yl um , w i thh ol di ng of re m ov al , and C A T re l i ef and o rder ed C enol l i re m ov ed t o A l bani a and the B IA di sm i ss ed C enol l i ’ s app ea l . T he B IA fo u n d th atth e C en o l l i ’ s en co u n t er d u ri n g th e el ect i o n d i d n o tam o u n tt o p ast pers ec ut i on because he r eport ed no si gn i fi canti nj uri es or the need for m edi ca l tr e a tm e nt , a nd w a s nots ubj e c tt o a ny ha rm orthr e a t s apa rtf r om thi s i nc i de nt . T he B IA further f

ou nd thatnei ther thi s i nci dent , C enol l i ’ s f ather’ s arr es t s, no r e vi dence of c ont i nui ng hum a n r i ght s pr obl e m s i n A l ba ni ae s t abl i s he d aw e l l - f ounde d f e a rof p ersecu t i o n . T h e B IA al so fo u n d th atC en o l l i d i d n o tm eeth i s b u rd en t o est ab l i sh e lig ib ility u n d e rth e C A T b e c au s e h e d id n o t e s tab lis h th a t h e w o u ld m o r e lik e ly th a n n o t b e to rtu r e d u p o n h is r e tu rn . C en o l l i arg u es th at , b ased o n h i s b eat i n g atth e el ect i o n , h i s fath er’ s arrest s, a nd e vi de nc e of

c ountry c ondi t i ons i n A l ba ni a , the B I A e rr e d i n f i ndi ng tha the f a i l e d t o e s t abl i s h pa s tpe r s e c ut i on, aw e l l - f ounde d f e a rof pe r s e c ut i on, a nd e lig ib ility f

o rw ith h o ld in g o f

r e m o v a l. H e a ls o a r g u e s th a t th e B I A e rr o n e o u s ly c o n c lu d e d th a t o n e in c id e n t a lo n e d o e s n o t e s tab lis h p a s t p e r s e c u tio n . A s to h is C A T c la im , C e n o lli a r g u e s th a t th e B I A e rr e d b y n o t in d e p e n d e n tly r e v ie w in g h is cl ai m , as i tfa i l ed t o eng age i n a se para t e anal ys i s of hi s t es t i m on y and evi dence as to th is c la im . B e c au s e th e B I A d i d n o te x p r e s s l y a d o p tth e I J ’ s o p i n i o n a n d m a d e i t s o wn f i ndi ngs , w e r e vi e w the B I A ’ s de c i s i on. S e e A l N a jj a rv. A s hc r of

t , 257 F . 3d 1262,4

12 84 (11th C i r. 20 01 ). W e r evi ew fa ctual det erm i nat i on s usi ng the subst ant i al e v id e n c e te s t. F o r g u e v . U .S . A tt’y G e n ., 4 0 1 F .3 d 1 2 8 2 , 1 2 8 6 ( 1 1 th C ir . 2 0 0 5 ) . W e w i l l a f

f i rm i f the de c i s i on “ i s s upport e d byr e a s onabl e , s ubs t a nt i a l , a nd pr oba t i ve e vi de nc e on the r e c or d c ons i de r e d a s aw hol e . ” I d. ( c i t a t i on a nd q u o t at i o n m ark s o m i tt ed ). W e rev i ew th e reco rd ev i d en ce i n th e l i g h tm o st f a vor abl e t o the a ge nc y ’ s de c i s i on a nd dr a w a l l r e a s onabl e i nf e r e nc e s i n f

a vorof thatdeci si on . Id. T o con cl ud e thatthe B IA shou l d b e r ever se d, w e “ m ustfi nd that th e r ec o rd n o t o n ly su p p o rts th at co n clu sio n , b u t co m p els it. ” F ah im v . U .S . A tt ’y G e n ., 2 7 8 F .3 d 1 2 1 6 , 1 2 1 8 ( 1 1 th C ir . 2 0 0 2 ) ( c ita tio n a n d q u o ta tio n m a rk s o m itte d ) . “[ T ]h e m e r e f

a c t th a t th e r e c o r d m a y s u p p o rt ac o n tr a ry c o n c lu s io n is n o t e n o u g h to j us t i f y ar e ve r s a l of

the a dm i ni s tr a t i ve f

i ndi ngs . ” A de f

e m i v. A s hc r of

t , 386 F . 3d 10 22 , 10 27 (11th C i r. 20 04 ) ( en banc), ce rt . deni ed, 54 4 U . S . 10 35 (200 5). L egal a n d c o n s titu tio n a l c h a lle n g e s a r e r e v ie w e d d e n o v o . L o n y e m v . U .S . A tt’y G e n ., 352 F . 3d 1338, 1341 ( 11th C i r . 2003) ; ( c ons t i tut i ona l c ha l l e nge s ) ; M oha m m e d v. A s h c r o f t, 2 6 1 F .3 d 1 2 4 4 , 1 2 4 7 - 4 8 ( 1 1 th C ir . 2 0 0 1 ) ( le g a l c h a lle n g e s ) . T he A tt orne y G e ne r a l orthe S e c r e t a ry of H om e l a nd S e c ur i ty ha s di s c r e t i on t o g r a n ta s y l u m i f

a n a l i e n me e t s th e I N A ’ s d e f i n i t i o n o f a“ r e f u g e e . ” Se e 8 U . S. C. § 1158( b) ( 1) ( A ) , I N A § 208( b) ( 1) ( A ) . T he a s y l um appl i c a ntc a rr i e s the bur de n of prov i ng st atut ory “ re fugee” s t atus. A l N ajj ar , 25 7 F . 3d at12 84 . In order t o carry th i s b u rd en , th e ap p l i can tm u st , w i th sp eci fi c an d cred i b l e ev i d en ce, est ab l i sh5

(1) pas tpers ec ut i on on ac coun tof a s t atut ori l y l i st ed fa ct or, or (2) a“ w el l -f ou nd ed f e a r ” th a tth e s t a tu t o r i l y l i s t e d f a c t o rw i l l c au s e f

u tu r e p e r s e c u t i o n . 8 C. F. R. § 2 08 . 13 (a ), (b); R ui z v. U . S . A tt ’ y G en. , 44 0 F . 3d 12 47 , 12 57 (11th C i r. 20 06 ). P e r s e c u tio n is “a n ‘e x tr e m e c o n c e p t,’ r e q u ir in g ‘m o r e th a n af e w is o la te d in c id e n ts of ve rba l ha r a s s m e ntori nt i m i da t i on, ’ a nd . . . ‘ [ m ] e r e ha r a s s m e ntdoe s nota m ount t o p er se cut i on . ’ ” S epul veda v. U . S . A tt ’ y G en. , 40 1 F . 3d 12 26 , 12 31 (11th C i r. 2 0 0 5 ) ( c itin g G o n z a le z v . R e n o , 2 1 2 F .3 d 1 3 3 8 , 1 3 5 5 ( 1 1 th C ir . 2 0 0 0 ) ) . F urthe rm or e , “ [ n] ota l l e xc e pt i ona l tr e a tm e nti s pe r s e c ut i on. ” G onz a l e z , 212 F . 3d a t 1 3 5 5 . In the abse nce of pas tpers ec ut i on , “ the pet i t i on erm ustdem on stra t e a w e l l - f ounde d f e a rof f utur e pe r s e c ut i on tha ti s both s ubj e c t i ve l y ge nui ne a nd obj ec t i vel y r ea sonabl e. ” R ui z, 44 0 F . 3d at12 57 . “ T he subj ec t i ve com po nentcan be prov ed ‘ by the appl i cant ’ s c re di bl e t es t i m on y thathe or she genui nel y f ears pe r s e c ut i on, ’ w hi l e the obj e c t i ve c om pone nt‘ c a n be f ul f i l l e d e i the rby e s t abl i s hi ng pa s tpe r s e c ut i on ortha the ors he ha s agood r e a s on t o f e a rf utur e pe r s e c ut i on. ’ ” I d. ( c i t a t i on om i tt e d) . T he appl i c a ntm us tpr e s e nt“ s pe c i f i c , de t a i l e d f

a c t s s how i ng a go od re as on t o fea r thathe or she w i l l be si ng l ed ou tfor per se cut i on on ac coun tof” apr ot e c t e d gr ound. A l N a jj a r , 257 F . 3d a t1287 ( quot a t i on m a rks a nd c i t a t i on o m itte d ) . A n ap p lic a n t w h o f a ils to e s tab lis h e lig ib ility f o ra s y lu m o n th e m e r its n e c e s s a r ily f

a ils to e s tab lis h e lig ib ility f o rw ith h o ld in g o f

r e m o v a l o rC A T r e lie f

.6

F or gue , 401 F . 3d a t1288 n. 4. A s to p a s t p e r s e c u tio n , th e B I A d id n o t r e ly o n th e p r o p o s itio n th a t as in g le i nc i de ntc oul d nota m ountt o pe r s e c ut i on, butr e a s one d tha tthi s pa rt i c ul a ri nc i de nt d id n o t r e s u lt in s ig n if

ic a n t in ju r ie s o rth e n e e d f

o rm e d ic a l tr e a tm e n t a n d th a t, as i de fr om thi s i nci dent , C enol l i had n o o ther probl em s. T hi s f i nd i ng i s s up po rt ed by s ubs t a nt i a l e vi de nc e . C e nol l i ’ s onl y pr obl e m w a s the i nc i de ntdur i ng the e l e c t i on. C e nol l i w a s notthe onl y pe r s on a s ke d t o vot e f orthe s oc i a l i s t s ; he t es t i fi ed thatthe pers on w ho approached him al so approached “ m any other peopl e” ab o u t c h a n g in g th e irv o te s . Ce n o l l i t e s t i f

i e d th a th e w a s b e a t e n b y th e p o l i c e a f t e rh i s r e f

u s a l . A ts o me uns pe c i f i e d poi nt , e i ghtde m oc r a t i c pa rty m e m be r s c a m e t o hi s a i d. A s ar e s ul tof the al t er ca t i on , he re ce i ved a cutl i p and “ di ff er entm arks on [hi s] bo dy” thatw er e no l onge rvi s i bl e . C e nol l i di d notr e qui r e a ny m e di c a l tr e a tm e ntorgo t o adoc t or a s ar e s ul tof

hi s i nj ur i e s . B a s e d on thi s e vi de nc e , w e c a nnotc onc l ude tha tthe r e c or d c om pe l s the c onc l us i on tha tthi s s i ngl e be a t i ng r os e t o the l e ve l of pe r s e c ut i on. S e e , e . g, T a w m v. A s hc r of t , 363 F . 3d 740, 742- 43 ( 8th C i r . 2004) ( f in d in g n o p e r s e c u tio n w h e r e th e p e titio n e rw a s d e ta in e d a n d b e a te n “lig h tly ” in 1994 a nd de t a i ne d and be a t e n i n 1998, a f t e rw hi c h he r e c e i ve d a n oi ntm e ntf or s w e l l i ng a nd r e c ove r e d f ul l y w i thi n aw e e k) ; D a nda n v. A s hc r of t , 339 F . 3d 567, 573- 74 ( 7th C i r . 2003) ( hol di ng tha tthe r e c or d di d notc om pe l af i ndi ng of7

pers ec ut i on w here pet i t i on erw as det ai ned for three days du ri ng w hi ch t i m e he w as b e a te n , r e s u ltin g in a“s w o lle n ” f a c e ) . T he B I A ’ s f

i ndi ng tha tC e nol l i di d notha ve aw e l l - f ounde d f e a rof p e r s e c u tio n b a s e d o n e ith e rh is o rh is f a th e r ’s s u p p o rt f

o rth e d e m o c r a tic p a rty is a l s o s upport e d by s ubs t a nt i a l e vi de nc e . C e nol l i be c a m e i nvol ve d w i th the d e m o c r a tic p a rty in 1 9 9 6 , b u t d id n o t h a v e a n y p r o b le m s d u e to h is p a rty m em bers hi p u nt i l the June 24 , 20 01 el ec t i on s. A l tho ug h C enol l i ’ s f ather w as arre st ed tw o t i m es w hi l e C enol l i w as st i l l l i vi ng i n A l bani a, there i s no evi dence th a t h e h a d a n y p r o b le m s d u e to th e s e a rr e s ts o rh is f a th e r ’s p o litic a l a c tiv ity . C e n o lli’s o n ly p r o b le m o c c u rr e d w ith in th e c o n te x t o f e le c tio n v io le n c e . C e n o lli d e s c r ib e d as itu a tio n w h e r e as o c ia lis t p a rty m e m b e rw a s a s k in g m a n y p e o p le to vot e f orhi s pa rty ; C e nol l i w a s nots pe c i f i c a l l y s oughtoutf

orthi s purpos e . T he re cord do es no tcom pel the concl usi on thatthe po l i ce or soci al i stparty s up po rt er s w ou l d st i l l be i nt er es t ed i n C enol l i as a r es ul tof thi s i nci dentand, gi ven that C e n o lli h a d n o o th e rp r o b le m s d u e to h is o rh is f a th e r ’s p o litic a l a c tiv ity o rh is fa th er ’s ar re sts, th e las t o f w h ich o cc u rr ed alm o st th re e y ea rs b ef o re C en o ll i’ s hear i ng before the IJ , the re cord l i kew i se do es no tcom pel the fi nd i ng thathi s f ear of bei ng si ng l ed ou tfor per se cut i on on these grou nd s i s obj ec t i vel y r ea sonabl e. C f. S e pul ve da , 401 F . 3d a t1231- 32 ( f i ndi ng tha tthe r e c or d di d notc om pe l c onc l us i on tha tpe t i t i one rha d aw e l l - f ounde d f e a rof be i ng s i ngl e d outf

orpe r s e c ut i on8

be c aus e , a l though s he e xe r c i s e d l e a de r s hi p i n the nonvi ol e nc e m ove m e nt , the evi dence di d n oti nd i ca t e thather not ori ety a s an act i vi stw ou l d o ut l as ther f ou ry e a rab s e n c e f

r o m C o lo m b ia ) . W h ile th e b a c k g r o u n d r e p o rts d o c u m e n t ab u s e s b y th e p o lic e a n d , d e s p ite so m e im p ro v em en ts, rep o rt co n ti n u ed se rio u s p ro b lem s w ith th e g o v er n m en t’ s h u m a n r ig h ts r e c o r d , th e y d o n o t c o m p e l af in d in g th a t C e n o lli h a s a n o b je c tiv e ly r e a s o n ab le w e ll- f

o u n d e d f e a ro f b e in g s in g le d o u t f

o rp e r s e c u tio n o n a c c o u n t o f h is p o litic a l o p in io n . T h e r e w e r e n o p o litic a l k illin g s o rc o n f irm e d c a s e s o f

s tr ic tly pol i t i c a l de t e nt i on i n 2003. A s of the 2001 P r of

i l e , a l l pol i t i c a l pa rt i e s w e r e a c t i ve i n m ostof the coun tryw i tho uta patt ern o f m i stre atm ent . F urtherm ore, the O ct ob er 20 03 el ec t i on s w er e an i m prov em entov erprevi ou s e l ec t i on s, w i th o nl y afe w is o la te d in c id e n ts o f

irr e g u la r itie s a n d v io le n c e , a n d c a m p a ig n s w e r e g e n e r a lly c a lm a n d c o n d u c te dw ith o u t th e h e a te d rh e to r ic th a t c h a r a c te r iz e d p a s t c a m p a ig n s . W hi l e C enol l i m aysubj ec t i vel y f ear r eturni ng t o A l bani a, subst ant i al evi dence s upport s the f

i ndi ng tha tC e nol l i ’ s f

e a rof be i ng s i ngl e d outf

orpe r s e c ut i on on a c c o u n t o f

h is o rh is f

a th e r ’s p o litic a l o p in io n is n o t o b je c tiv e ly r e a s o n ab le . B ec ause C enol l i fa i l ed t o est abl i sh el i gi bi l i ty f or as yl um on the m er i t s, he a l s o f a i l e d t o e s t abl i s h e l i gi bi l i ty f orw i thhol di ng of

r e m ova l a nd r e l i e f

unde rtheWe find the BIA’s analysis of Cenolli’s CAT claim sufficient a nd, thus, do not remand 1 fo r additi on al f

inding s. No t only

do e s th efailureto e sta

bli sha sylum

on themerits n e c e ssa

ri ly result in a failure to establish elig ibility for CAT relief, F orgue, 401 F .3d at 1288 n.4, but Cenolli based his CAT claim on the same a rguments and evidence a s his asylum claim and we have f ound a similar findingsufficient to permit review. SeeHuangv. U.S. Att’y Gen., 429 F .3d 1002, 1007 (11th Cir. 2005) (holdingthat BIA’s findingthat, “[e]ven acc eptingthe re spondent’s claim as credible, shestillwould not meet her burdens of

proof f or asy lum, withholdi ngof remov al, o r pro te c tio n under t heConventi on

Ag ains t T or

ture [,]”wa s suff

ic ient to p ermit review). 9 C A T . F o r g u e , 4 0 1 F .3 d a t 1 2 8 8 n .4 . 1 In addi t i on t o chal l engi ng the m er i t s of the B IA ’ s dec i si on , C enol l i ar gu es thathe di d n otre ce i ve a f ai r r evi ew of hi s app ea l by the B IA because the B IA fa i l ed t o con si der the D epartm entof H om el and S ec uri ty’ s ( “ D H S ”) fa i l ure t o fi l e a r e pl y br i e f

. H e r e a s ons tha t , be c aus e D H S ’ s f a i l ur e t o f

i l e ar e pl y br i e f

w a i ve d a ny obj ec t i on s t o the i ss ues he r ai se d i n h i s app ea l , the B IA shou l d h ave c on si dere d D H S ’s f a ilu r e to f

ile ab r ie f

a s n o n - o p p o s itio n to th e s e is s u e s . W e di s a gr e e . T he r e gul a t i ons do notr e qui r e D H S t o f i l e ar e pl y br i e f

on appeal t o the B IA . 8 C . F . R . § 1 00 3. 38 (f ) ( “ B ri ef s m aybe fi l ed by bo th p art i es [. ] ”) ( e m pha s i s a dde d) . M or e ove r , s ubj e c tt o the s t a nda r ds gove rni ng i t s de t e rm i na t i on of c a s e s , the B I A i s i ns truc t e d t o r e s ol ve c a s e s ba s e d on i t s i nde pe nde ntj udgm e nt a nd di s c r e t i on. I d. § 1003. 1( d) ( 1) ( i i ) . N ordi d the B I A vi ol a t e C e nol l i ’ s due p r o c e s s r ig h ts , a s h e w a s a f f o r d e d n o tic e a n d a n o p p o rtu n ity to b e h e a r d . S ebas t i an-S ol erv. U . S . A tt ’ y G en. , 40 9 F . 3d 12 80 , 12 87 n. 14 (11th C i r. 20 05 ), c e rt. d e n ie d , 1 2 6 S .C t. 1 6 6 2 ( 2 0 0 6 ) .10

I n lig h t o f

th e f o r e g o in g , th e p e titio n f

o rr e v ie w is DE NI E D.