Alhori

MEMORANDUM **

Saied Alhori, a native and citizen of Sudan, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ decision affirming an Immigration Judge’s denial of his request for asylum and withholding of deportation. We reverse the BIA and grant the petition.

The BIA dismissed Alhori’s petition solely on the ground that he lacked credibility. We must determine whether substantial evidence supports this finding. Sidhu v. INS, 220 F.3d 1085, 1088 (9th Cir.2000). Although we can reverse the BIA only if we are “compelled to conclude to the contrary,” 8 U.S.C. § 1252 (b)(4)(B), the BIA must still have a “legitimate artic-ulable basis to question the petitioner’s credibility, and must offer a specific, cogent reason for any stated disbelief.” Shah v. INS, 220 F.3d 1062, 1067 (9th Cir.2000) (quotations and citations omitted). Neither the record as a whole nor the BIA’s opinion substantiates its conclusion.

In finding that Alhori’s testimony lacked credibility, the BIA relied primarily on what it characterized as “a troubling amount of discrepancy in the level of detail” regarding Alhori’s various statements. The mere failure to spontaneously offer details of events already…