Opinion ID: 2974932
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Asylum Claims Based on Religious Persecution

Text: As a subsidiary issue, Shkreli asserts in his asylum application that his family also suffered - 12 - No. 05-4633 Shkreli v. Gonzales persecution on account of their Catholic faith. Religious exercise was prohibited under the Communist regime, but Shkreli’s father worked to open Catholic churches. In 1990, Shkreli’s father, uncle, and brother were arrested and tortured after bringing a priest to their village to celebrate mass. Albana testified that the December 1998 attack upon her and Shkreli occurred as they were coming home from church and that their attackers instructed them “not to speak out” about religion. She also vaguely testified that her family experienced “problems” due to their “religious activity.” For the same reasons that Shkreli has failed to establish past persecution and future persecution in connection with his family’s political activism, he has failed to establish persecution in connection with their religion. He has not adequately corroborated his allegations with affidavits from his parents or other siblings; other than the December 1998 encounter, which is insufficiently severe to give rise to a finding of persecution, he has not shown a pattern of harassing or abusive incidents targeted at him; and he has not contradicted the State Department’s conclusion that Albania is a religiously tolerant country. We are therefore not compelled to reverse the findings of the IJ.