Fazaa

MEMORANDUM **

Adel Fazaa, a native and citizen of Syria, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order affirming the Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) denial of his application for asylum, withholding of removal and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 , and we deny the petition.

Where, as here, the BIA adopts the decision of the IJ, we review the IJ’s decision as if it were that of the BIA. See Abebe v. Gonzales, 432 F.3d 1037, 1039 (9th Cir.2005) (en banc). Fazaa contends that the IJ’s adverse credibility determination lacks a valid basis. We disagree. The adverse credibility finding was based upon, inter alia, a material omission in his asylum application and credible fear interview regarding a beating he allegedly suffered at the hands of the Syrian military draft board, as well as a discrepancy between Fazaa’s testimony and documentary evidence he submitted. Each finding was specifically and cogently described by the IJ, and supported by the record. Because both the omission and the discrepancy also cast doubt on the events that go to the heart of Fazaa’s asylum claim, substantial evidence…