Angov

I. BACKGROUND

Nikolay Angov, a Bulgarian citizen, claims he was persecuted by the Bulgarian government because he is Roma.1 He alleges repeated abuse at the hands of the Bulgarian police, including beatings, false accusations of crimes and illegitimate arrests. After three years of this treatment, he fled Bulgaria and sought asylum in the United States.

An IJ conducted asylum hearings in early 2004, during which Angov presented several documents, including two Bulgarian subpoenas that ordered him to appear at a Sofia police station. The immigration judge (“IJ”) allowed the government to obtain a State Department investigation of Angov’s allegations. See 8 C.F.R. § 208.11. The investigation was conducted by our consulate in Sofia, and

1 Angov’s brief refers to him as “Roma” or “gypsy” interchangeably. So do we.

ANGOV V. HOLDER

the results were summarized in a letter signed by Cynthia Bunton, Director of Department of State’s Office of Country Reports and Asylum Affairs.

The IJ admitted the Bunton Letter, which stated that the Embassy had contacted “an official in the Archive Department at the 5th Police District in Sofia.” The official found a…