Gill

MEMORANDUM **

Ishwer Singh Gill, a native and citizen of India, petitions for a review of a final decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), affirming an Immigration Judge’s (IJ) denial of asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture (CAT) relief. We deny the petition for review.

DISCUSSION

The IJ properly denied Gill’s applications for asylum and withholding of removal because his testimony was not credible. The inconsistencies cited by the IJ “are neither minor nor insignificant, but are central to [Gill’s] claim of past persecution and abuse.” Kohli v. Gonzales, 478 F.3d 1061 , 1071 (9th Cir.2007). For example, Gill’s statements regarding how he fled the country and whether he stayed in his village or hid in other parts of India after his last arrest “went to the heart of [his] claim because it involved the very event upon which he predicated his claim for asylum.” See Don v. Gonzales, 476 F.3d 738, 741 (9th Cir.2007). His failure to explain the details of his political or religious beliefs also undermined his claims of persecution. See Singh v. Ashcroft, 367 F.3d 1139, 1143 (9th Cir.2004) (political beliefs); Mejiar-Paiz v. INS, 111 F.3d 720, 724…