Atasse

MEMORANDUM **

Petitioner Sefer Atasse, a native and citizen of Syria, entered the United States as a visitor. She overstayed her visa, and the government instituted removal proceedings. Petitioner applied for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (“CAT”), claiming that she was raped by a government official for refusing to join the Syrian Ba’ath Party. The immigration judge (“IJ”), and the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) on appeal, held that no nexus existed between the rape and a statutorily protected ground. The IJ and BIA denied CAT relief as well.

We review the BIA’s finding that there was no nexus under a highly deferential standard; to grant the petition, we must conclude that the evidence “compels” the contrary conclusion. INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478 , 481 n. 1, 112 S.Ct. 812 , 117 L.Ed.2d 38 (1992).

1. We turn first to the asylum claim. Rape can be a form of persecution. Lazo-Majano v. INS, 813 F.2d 1432 , 1435—36 (9th Cir.1987), overruled on other grounds by Fisher v. INS, 79 F.3d 955 (9th Cir.1996) (en banc); see also…