Opinion ID: 789712
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: A letter from the President of the General Union requesting Allabani's assistance.

Text: 40 5. A November 15, 1991, letter from the General Director of the Ministry of the Interior, Prison Department, to the General Director of Yemen Airlines that evidences that Allabani was in custody from October 13, 1991, until November 3, 1991, and that the government did not object to his return to employment. 41 6. A letter from Dr. Ibrahim Al-Khazan of the Dr. Al-Khazan Hospital, evidencing that Mr. Allabani was admitted for treatment for facial bruises and extensive redness on his back. 42 7. A letter from Dr. Sami Mohamad Fouad of the Al Qudss Clinic, evidencing that Allabani's cousin was treated for gunshot wounds on June 30, 1994. 43 8. An obituary regarding Ali Muhamed Ahmed Al-Musaadi Al-Awadi, member of Parliament, who died in a car accident on October 16, 1995. 44 Allabani says that he gave these documents to Kulics to submit to the Immigration Judge. Allabani says that he asked Kulics if he could provide anything else, and Kulics told him that nothing else was needed. Allabani contends that he relied on the advice of Kulics, and believed that these documents were submitted. It is apparent from the transcript that these documents were not submitted to the judge: Mr. Kulis [sic] to Respondent: 45 Q. The second time you were in prison, in June of 1992, what happened that time? 46 A. After the conference, they took me to prison, like I said earlier, they beat me with a rubber band and cold water. And, after I left the prison, I went to the doctor, and here is my medical report. Judge to Mr. Kulis [sic]: 47 Q. Mr. Kulis, why am I getting all these things now? 48
49 Q. The photographs, and everything else. Mr. Kulis [sic] to Respondent: 50 Q. Just keep those materials there. 51 Kulics did not offer the medical reports, photographs, or other documentation, described above, during the hearing. Allabani argues that these documents would have established Allabani's eligibility for asylum and withholding of deportation. 52 Also, Allabani argues that Kulics should have paid more attention to his case. If he had, Allabani argues, Kulics would have been aware of and submitted a March 1997, fifty-page report by Amnesty International, Ratification without Implementation: The State of Human Rights in Yemen. The report shows that the Yemeni government continued to arrest, detain, and torture political opponents and suspected political opponents during and after the civil war. Allabani contends that the report corroborates his claims of past persecution and fear of future persecution with respect to his arrests, detention, torture, and attempted assassination. Allabani asserts that Kulics's failure to do even the minimal investigation and preparation for submission of documents for an asylum and withholding of deportation claim clearly constitutes ineffective assistance of counsel where such documentation is normally required for the claim. 53 Allabani contends that Kulics further undermined his case by failing to file any supportive documentation or brief on appeal. Kulics failed to file an appeal brief even after the Board ordered the filing and the Immigration and Naturalization Service filed a motion for summary dismissal for failure to file an appeal brief. 54 The Board found that Kulics was clearly ineffective; however, because Allabani still failed to establish prima facie eligibility, Kulics' performance, therefore, could not be considered prejudicial. Effective assistance would not have gained a different result. The Board stated: We do not dispute the respondent's contention that his former counsel could have taken greater care and diligence in the preparation and presentation of his case before the IJ and the Board. However, we have reviewed the record, and note that the Board and IJ concluded that the respondent was not the victim of past persecution in Yemen. Nothing in the instant motion alters our conclusion on that point. We further are unable to find that if the proceedings were reopened, the respondent would likely establish eligibility for asylum and withholding of removal based on the evidence submitted with the motion. Since we are unable to find that the respondent is prima facie eligible for a grant of asylum or withholding of removal under either section 241(b) of the Act or the Torture Convention, we cannot conclude that the respondent suffered prejudice by the representation of his former attorney. We therefore see no need to reopen these proceedings. 55 Indeed, none of the new evidence submitted to the Board would have changed the outcome of Allabani's hearing because it does not show that he was arrested, detained, and tortured on account of his political opinion and affiliation with political organizations. Also, none of the evidence proves the existence of, or Allabani's membership in, the political organizations in which he claims membership. Because Allabani fails to prove prima facie eligibility with the new evidence, we cannot reverse the Board's denial of his motion to reopen.