Wednesday, January 28, 2015

activist from Cameroon denied asylum by a Judge

Mr. T, from Cameroon, was denied asylum by a Judge, who stated:

1] Mr. T claims his government is angry at him, and that prison guards beat him up in 2007. However, after that time, T departed from Cameroon and came to the USA, and did not apply for asylum! Why not?  and then he returned to the country he says is so dangerous. Why would anyone return to a place where the government is angry at you?

2] his family still lives in Cameroon, and no one bothers them. If the government hates Mr. T, why doesn't the government punish the family?

3] Mr. T did not know his own international travel. Why not? The Court is interested in the "stamps" in his passport. Yes, the passport pages are blurry, and the stamps are overlapping, but the Court asked his clerk to personally photocopy each page of the passport.
4] he did not apply for asylum in Egypt. why not?
5] Mr. N testified in court, but he was inconsistent with the letter he had written. Mr. N was unable to repeat a 3-paragraph letter?
6] yes, Mr. T has a scar on his head. Some one hit him. By who? and why? there is insufficient evidence that a government agent hit him because to the political opinion of T.
7] T departed from, and returned to, the "dangerous country."  [the Judge repeated this; see #1 above]
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8] T departed from his country years ago. Is his government still interested in him, or did the government forget about him?  There is no evidence of what the government thinks today, January 2015.
9] the sister wrote a letter saying, "the government tortured T in front of me," but she also said "I could not visit him in prison."  This is confusing and inconsistent.
10] the wife wrote a letter of support, but she has her own motives: she wants to come live here in USA; so she exaggerates to help herself [if husband wins, she wins]
11] T says he was beaten on his feet; Dr. Smith says he saw no problems with his feet.
12] T says he was beaten in 2007 and also in 2008; the letter from Dr. Jones only talks about 2007.
13] Ms. Ossa wrote that "I saw the police arrest T" but she gives no other details.
14] things are getting better in Cameroon. On April 14, 2013, the country held its first Senate elections in history, "and the Dept of State considered the elections to be generally free and fair."
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15] there is no evidence his government cares about him today. T has not been active here in USA; he is not a leader or officeholder in his party.
16] the government has not harmed his family; the government has not even talked to any member of the family.

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

activist from Iraq

The asylum officer asked:
why are you applying for asylum?
Whom do you fear?
Whom do you fear the most?
Did you receive any direct threats?
did you suffer any physical harm?
Why did the soldier hurt you?
Why is Mr. Mustapha angry at you?
How does he know about your political opinion?
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What is your political opinion?
How did you come to feel this way/
How did you first get involved with your political party? what motivated you to jon?
How does your government view you?
Why did ISIS kidnap those people?
How does anyone know you are a Kurd?
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Were there any specific threats against you?
You arrived here in USA in June 2012, but did not apply for asylum? and then you returned to the dangerous country?
-when you returned to Iraq, did you take any precautions to avoid harm?
When did you first decide to apply for asylum>
If you return, what would happen to you?
You had problems in the city of Baghdad? OK< so, why not live in the city of Basra?
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Tell me about all of your international travel!
Did you ever have to pay money to travel in your country?
did you ever have to pay money to someone, even if you didn't want to?
did you ever give money to  a terrorist? ever give money, even if you didn't want to, to a bad guy?
Did you ever pay $ to a 1] terrorist 2] smuggler 3] stranger 4] taxi driver?
Ever get stopped at a roadblock, or at a checkpoint? YOu