AHMED v. KEISLER
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today released an opinion in AHMED v. KEISLER, No. 04-76246, an administrative appeal. The panel consisted of Harry Pregerson and Johnnie B. Rawlinson, Circuit Judges, and Brian E. Sandoval, District Judge.
PREGERSON, Circuit Judge:
Petitioner Shaikh Ali Ahmed, a native of Bangladesh, appeals the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (”BIA”) decision affirming the Immigration Judge’s (”IJ”) denial of his application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (”CAT”). We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. ยง 1252, and we grant the petition for review. . . .
RAWLINSON, Circuit Judge, dissenting:
I respectfully dissent, as I cannot agree that the evidence in this case compels a finding of persecution. See Lolong v. Gonzales, 484 F.3d 1173, 1178 (9th Cir. 2007) (en banc) (requiring affirmance of the BIA unless “the evidence not only supports, but compels” reversal) (citation omitted). As we have repeatedly held, persecution is an “extreme concept,” characterized by “the infliction of suffering or harm upon those who differ . . . in a way regarded as offensive.” Kohli v. Gonzales, 473 F.3d 1061, 1070 (9th Cir. 2007) (citation omitted). The facts of this case simply do not compel us to fit Ahmed’s claims within that characterization. The majority opinion cites three bases supporting its holding that a conclusion of persecution is compelled. The first is the killing of Ahmed’s uncle and the beating of Ahmed and his brother. The second is the punishment inflicted on Ahmed as a result of his participation in unauthorized demonstrations. The third is the disappearance of Ahmed’s brother following an argument between the brother and members of an opposition group. I will explain why the majority’s reliance on these bases is misplaced. . . .