CA9 on Armenia, Imputed Political Opinion: Khudaverdyan v. Holder

"Petitioners Hayk and Nadezhda Khudaverdyan seek asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (“CAT”), Dec. 10, 1984, 1465 U.N.T.S. 85. The Armenian military police detained, beat, and threatened Petitioner after he was seen talking to a reporter following a personal confrontation with the city’s military police chief. The Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) held that, because Petitioner failed to prove that he intended to expose corruption when he talked to the reporter, he did not demonstrate that he was persecuted because of his actual political opinion. The BIA further held that Petitioner failed to show that his mistreatment at the hands of the military police rose to the level of torture within the meaning of the CAT. Although we find no error in those rulings, the BIA failed to address evidence in the record that Petitioner was persecuted on account of an imputed political opinion, that is, because military police officials thought that he was talking to the reporter in an attempt to expose government corruption. That failure is an error of law. Accordingly, we grant the petition for review in part, as to the asylum and withholding claims and remand to the BIA for further proceedings consistent with this opinion." - Khudaverdyan v. Holder, Feb. 27, 2015.