Avagyan

MEMORANDUM **

Petitioner Hovsep Avagyan appeals a BIA decision that adopted and affirmed the denial by an Immigration Judge (IJ) of his application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the United Nations Convention Against Torture (CAT). *649 The IJ denied all relief based on his determination that Avagyan lacked credibility.

Avagyan is an Armenian national who was active in a political opposition movement known as the Front of National Consent (FNC). During his merits hearing, Avagyan testified that based on his participation in the FNC, he was twice arrested, detained and beaten, and denied access to a lawyer. He suffered injuries including a fractured jaw and the loss of fifteen teeth as a result of police brutality. Avagyan also testified that because of his political activity, one of his sons, who was serving in the military, was severely mistreated by his commanders, and that his second son was expelled from his university and conscripted into the military. His family continued to face harassment by the police after he fled Armenia.

The IJ cited three reasons for his conclusion that Avagyan lacked credibility, none of which supports the adverse credibility…