Opinion ID: 3213240
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Asylum Application and Interview

Text: Sopo is a native and citizen of Cameroon and a member of the Bali tribe. In May 2003, Sopo fled from his home country to the United States. After he arrived in the United States, Sopo applied for asylum based on his political affiliations. On August 23, 2004, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) granted Sopo’s application for asylum. In his application and the asylum interview, Sopo explained that he had held leadership positions in the Bali Catholic Youth Association (“BCYA”) and the Southern Cameroons National Council (“SCNC”). In 2000, Sopo was arrested during an SCNC event. The police took his clothes and starved and beat him. At 4 Case: 14-11421 Date Filed: 06/15/2016 Page: 5 of 79 least twice a day, the police hung him upside-down from a metal pole, strapped electrical nodes to his feet, and shocked him with increasing voltage. After about a week of imprisonment, Sopo “went into shock.” The police abandoned him at a hospital, where he stayed for two weeks. Later in 2000, the police arrested Sopo’s mother, and starved, beat, and raped her in an attempt to get information about Sopo. She got out of prison by signing a pledge to give Sopo to the authorities. In March 2002, Sopo was arrested during a BCYA meeting. The police beat him, caned him, made him drink his own urine, and told him he would never leave prison until he renounced his SCNC and BCYA activities. After about a week, Sopo became ill and was released to go to the hospital. In September 2002, the police raided Sopo’s house, arrested him again, and kept him in prison for two months. He faced more beatings during that stay. In January 2003, Sopo obtained an American visa under his real name, but police officers at the airport refused to let him leave Cameroon because there were outstanding warrants against him. He then obtained a visa under a false name and left Cameroon in May 2003. After obtaining asylum in 2004, Sopo settled in Seattle, Washington, with his wife, who left Cameroon with him, and their daughter, who was born in the United States shortly after their arrival. 5 Case: 14-11421 Date Filed: 06/15/2016 Page: 6 of 79