Ukashu Nuru, AKA Ukasha Nuru v. Alberto R. Gonzales, Attorney General

Warfare still continues to produce cruel, inhuman, and degrading acts of torture sanctioned or tolerated by government officials and committed even in lands that consider themselves civilized. The case before us involves one of those occurrences and requires us to decide whether the law permits the United States government to remove a victim of such treatment to his home country where he would likely, once again, be subjected to the infliction of severe physical pain and suffering, if not death.

Ukashu Nuru, a native and citizen of Eritrea, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA” or “Board”) final order of removal, including the order denying his applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (“CAT” or “Convention”). The immigration judge found Nuru to be a credible witness but denied him relief on the grounds that he had not suffered past persecution as a result of his political opinion and that he would not be tortured if he were returned to Eritrea. The BIA adopted these findings and further found that Nuru’s punishment by the Eritrean…