Opinion ID: 3054349
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Relevance of Embassy Telegram

Text: As thoroughly demonstrated above, the record is replete with evidence that Donchev, himself, was persecuted on account of his membership in the particular social group of Roma supporters. He was targeted because of his association with, and support for, the Roma, an ethnic minority. This was a voluntary association characterized by his membership in the pro-Roma organization, Future for Roma, and his refusal to mistreat Roma when ordered to do so by his superiors in the military. This individualized evidence is not discredited by a telegram from the U.S. Embassy stating that although the human rights situation has improved, “individual instances of anti-Roma discrimination which still occur should not be equated with wholesale systematic persecution.” See Chebchoub v. INS, 257 F.3d 1038, 1044 (9th Cir. 2001) (stating that the BIA could rely on a country report to refute the applicant’s generalized statements about country conditions, but “not to discredit specific testimony regarding his individual experience”); Duarte de Guinac, 179 F.3d at 1162 (stating that the purpose of country condition evidence is to enable the factfinder to “intelligently evaluate the petitioner’s credibility”). This telegram was not sent in response to Donchev’s petition. It is dated December 30, 2000, almost three years before he applied for asylum, and contains only general statements about the Roma in Bulgaria. Importantly, Donchev’s testimony is not inconsistent with the telegram, which simply states that some Bulgarian asylum seekers were awarded asylum based on the general perception that Roma are persecuted despite the fact that those applicants failed to present any evidence that they themselves had been persecuted. In contrast, Donchev’s credible testimony establishes that he suffered per680 DONCHEV v. MUKASEY secution because of his association with the Roma. See Duarte de Guinac, 179 F.3d at 1162-63 (reversing BIA conclusion that State Department reports regarding discrimination against indigenous people in Guatemala failed to provide adequate support for Duarte de Guinac’s persecution claim because the report did not contradict his testimony regarding what happened to him). Therefore, I cannot agree with the majority that this single document establishes that Donchev was not persecuted because of his association with the Roma in light of the compelling direct evidence that he was targeted because of that association.