Benyounes

MEMORANDUM ***

Samir Benyounes, a citizen of Algeria, sought asylum, withholding of deportation, and relief under the United Nations Convention Against Torture. An Immigration Judge (IJ) denied him all relief and also denied his motion to reopen. This decision was affirmed by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), and Benyounes now petitions for review. As the parties are familiar with the factual and procedural history of this case, we need not recite it in full here. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252 and we deny the petition for review.

Benyounes first claims that the IJ did not recognize refusal to serve in the military as a ground for granting asylum. The BIA conducted a de novo review of the IJ’s decision, however, and we thus review the BIA’s decision, not that of the IJ. See Sidhu v. INS, 220 F.3d 1085, 1088 (9th Cir.2000). Because the BIA relied solely on the fact that Benyounes’s testimony was not credible, as discussed further below, discussion of IJ’s treatment of conscientious objector status is unnecessary.

Benyounes next claims that the BIA erred in denying him asylum and withholding of deportation on account of his fear of persecution. Here, at…