Saidani

MEMORANDUM *

Mohammed Saidani, a national and citizen of Algeria, petitions for review of a final order of the Board of Immigration Appeals denying his application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). We vacate and remand the CAT claim, and deny the petition with respect to the asylum and withholding of removal claims.

I

Although not each of the immigration judge’s (IJ) credibility findings is justifiable, and her demeanor findings lack sufficient description to be meaningful, there nevertheless is substantial evidence to support the adverse credibility determination. See Wang v. INS, 352 F.3d 1250, 1259 (9th Cir.2003) (“So long as one of the identified grounds is supported by substantial evidence and goes to the heart of Wang’s claim of persecution, we are bound to accept the IJ’s adverse credibility finding.”) Inconsistencies such as whether Saidani was placed in the trunk or back seat during his initial abduction, whether the tail of his shirt could be pulled over his head while handcuffed, whether he could see through his shirt to identify a persecutor, his position in the Algerian military, and whether he picked up his…

concurring:

I concur in the result. The supposed inconsistencies described in Section I of the Memorandum are not inconsistencies at all and do not support an adverse credibility finding. For example, there was nothing inconsistent about Saidani’s testimony about his ability to see through his shirt. He said was unable to see when his dress shirt and t-shirt had been pulled over his head. When, at a different location, his dress shirt alone was covering his head, he said he could see through the fabric. This is neither inconsistent nor implausible.

The most damning evidence affecting Saidani’s credibility was his proffer of a conscription notice addressed to him that was determined to be fraudulent. The IJ was not required to buy Saidani’s explanation that he was the innocent recipient of a fraudulent document procured, for reasons unknown, by his sister in Algeria. The circumstances surrounding this document strongly support an adverse inference.