Opinion ID: 3017925
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: “On account of” a statutorily protected ground

Text: In INS v. Elias-Zacarias, the Supreme Court held that an asylum applicant is not 7 required to provide “direct proof of his persecutors’ motives” in order to make out a claim of past persecution. 502 U.S. 478, 483 (1992). However, because “the statute makes motive critical, he must provide some evidence of it, direct or circumstantial.” Id. (emphasis in original). Furthermore, to reverse the BIA’s finding, “he must show that the evidence he presented was so compelling that no reasonable factfinder could fail to find the requisite fear of persecution.” Id. at 483-84. In his brief to this Court, Celaj cites three instances of past persecution that he claims are on account of his political opinion: numerous threats on his life, discharge from the police department, and two robberies of his home. The BIA and IJ agreed that the connection between these incidents and Celaj’s political activities was tenuous, largely based on speculation and conjecture. We find Celaj presented some circumstantial evidence connecting these acts to his political opinion. As to the discharge and robberies, we find the evidence does not compel a finding contrary to that of the BIA and IJ. However, as to the anonymous threats, we find the evidence compels the conclusion that they were made on account of Celaj’s political opinion. The BIA emphasized that Celaj could not identify the perpetrators of the robberies or provide evidence of their motivation. Celaj testified before the IJ that he did not know who robbed his house in August 1999, but that he thought it was five members of the Socialist Party whom he had arrested and were released the previous night. In addition, in his written application, Celaj stated the perpetrators wrote on his walls the statement, “Stop what you are doing or you will end up dead!” J.A. 172. The close proximity of the 8 robbery to the arrest and release of Socialist Party members, and the nature of the written threat viewed against the backdrop of Celaj’s involvement with the Democratic Party is circumstantial evidence that could have supported an inference that the robbery was on account of Celaj’s political opinion. However, the evidence does not compel this conclusion. See Abdille v. Ashcroft, 242 F.3d 477, 495 (3d Cir. 2001) (finding tenuous evidence insufficient to compel a finding that attacks were perpetrated on account of race, nationality, or membership in a particular social group) (emphasis added). Significantly, Celaj admitted he did not know who committed the 1999 robbery. Furthermore, the written statement is ambiguous and does not directly refer to Celaj’s involvement with the Democratic Party. Moreover, Celaj presented no evidence that the 2003 robbery, which took place after Celaj left Albania, was on account of his political opinion. Celaj also testified that he was fired from the police department in September 1999, one month after the robbery of his home. Celaj admitted the police chief did not tell Celaj why he had been fired, but testified that he believed he was fired because he complained that individuals he had arrested were being released. He also claims he and other police officers who supported the Democratic Party were replaced by officers loyal to the Socialist Party. This evidence is based almost entirely on speculation and any connection between the discharge and Celaj’s political opinion is far too attenuated to compel reversal of the BIA and IJ’s decisions. Finally, the IJ reasoned that Celaj did not meet his burden because he could not identify the perpetrators of the anonymous threats or provide evidence of their 9 motivation. We find the evidence does compel a finding that the anonymous threats were made on account of Celaj’s political opinion. Celaj testified that he received numerous anonymous threatening phone calls between 2000 and 2001. Moreover, he testified that the callers said the following: “Don’t get involved in the elections. Don’t be a body guard to members of parliament. We’re going to execute you or shoot you.” J.A. at 95. Furthermore, Celaj testified that a man who identified himself as a member of the Albanian secret service threatened Celaj on the street as he was leaving a Democratic Party gathering, warning him to “remove [him]self from meetings and gatherings.” J.A. at 97. These threats were not only made at a time when Celaj was active in the Democratic Party, but directly referenced his activities with the Party. This evidence is sufficient to compel a finding that the threats were on account of his political opinion.