Sergey Saley v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Sergey Viktorovich Saley, a native and citizen of Russia, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ order dismissing his appeal from a decision of an immigration judge (“IJ”) denying his applications for withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). Our jurisdiction is governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for substantial evidence the agency’s factual findings, Blandino-Medina v. Holder, 712 F.3d 1338, 1348 (9th Cir.2013), and review de novo questions of law, Pechenkov v. Holder, 705 F.3d 444, 449 (9th Cir.2012). We deny in part and dismiss in part the petition for review.

Substantial evidence supports the agency’s denial of Saley’s application for CAT protection on the ground that Saley failed to demonstrate that he would more likely than not suffer torture upon his removal to Russia. See Blandino-Medina, 712 F.3d at 1348 (affirming the denial of CAT protection for a petitioner who “had not presented evidence that similarly-situated individuals [we]re being tortured by [government] officials”). In reaching this conclusion, the IJ provided an adequately reasoned decision, despite simultaneously having found that…