Opinion ID: 204053
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Acts of Mistreatment

Text: Gourdet further contends that he has established that if returned to Haiti, he will likely be subjected to acts of mistreatment by Haitian authorities that rise to the level of torture. Gourdet points to undisputed evidence that he may be struck by Haitian authorities while in detention. The IJ found that Gourdet may also be struck by police officers, initially as a matter of course, and possibly later for other reasons such as not speaking Creole, and that other detainees may be directed to strike Gourdet. However, the IJ concluded that [a]s to the respondent being struck by police officers and/or other detainees or inmates in the police holding cells, the Court is compelled to find that such physical abuse falls in the category of a `lesser form of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment,' as opposed to an act which causes severe pain or suffering, physical or mental. The IJ did not err in concluding that this kind of rough treatment by police officers is not so severe as to rise to the level of torture. See In re J-E-, 23 I. & N. Dec. at 298 (noting that rough and deplorable treatment, such as police brutality, does not amount to torture (emphasis in original)). [6] The petition for review is denied.