Gevorkova

MEMORANDUM **

Larisa Gevorkova and her husband, Ser-go Gevorkova (collectively, the Gevorko-vas), natives of the former Soviet republic of Georgia, petition for review of a final order of the Board of Immigration Appeals denying their application for asylum, withholding of removal, and application for relief under the Convention Against Torture. We deny the petition for review.

There was substantial evidence to support the immigration judge’s adverse credibility determination with respect to past persecution. There was inconsistent testimony between Mr. and Mrs. Gevorkova or between testimony and the asylum application with respect to whether Mrs. Gevor-kova went to the Refugee Committee at all, whether her birth certificate was presented to the Refugee Committee and was rejected because she was Abkhazian, whether both Mr. and Mrs. Gevorkova were attacked in Sochi, Russia, and whether the attack on Mr. Gevorkova in Tbilisi, Georgia was reported to authorities. These inconsistencies are not minor or unimportant, but rather go to the heart of the Gevorkovas’ claim of past persecution, see Ceballos-Castillo v. INS, 904 F.2d 519, 520 (9th Cir.1990), and thus support an adverse…

dissenting:

I dissent. Larisa Gevorkova and her husband, Sergo Gevorkova, are Georgian nationals of mixed ethnicity. Because of their mixed ethnicity and the ongoing strife and hostility between Georgia and Abkhazia, the Gevorkovas faced significant persecution. They were not safe in the Georgian city of Tbilisi because of Mrs. Gevorkov’s Abkhazian ethnicity, and they were not safe in Abkhazian areas such as Sokhumi or in Russia because of Mr. Gevorkova’s Georgian and Armenian ethnicity. Accordingly, I believe that, if forced to return to Georgia, there is at least a ten percent chance the Gevorkovas will face future persecution because of their mixed ethnicity. See Al-Harbi v. INS, 242 F.3d 882, 888 (9th Cir.2001) (“[E]ven a ten percent chance of persecution may establish a well-founded fear.”). I would grant the petition for review and reverse the Board of Immigration Appeals and Immigration Judge’s determination that the Gevorkovas are not eligible for asylum.