Courthouse News Service
Jan 17 2010
Armenian Immigrant Wins Asylum Appeal
By ELIZABETH BANICKI
(CN) – The 9th Circuit revived the asylum bid of an Armenian man
who claims he was persecuted because he organized opposition rallies
to protest a corrupt politician and government official’s violent and
intimidating leadership.
Armen Baghdasaryan ran a small business at an Armenian market
owned by General Hakopian, a prominent general in the Armenian
Ministry of Defense. The market had hundreds of vendors, all of whom
paid rent to Hakopian.
Baghdasaryan claimed Hakopian’s men demanded an additional $100 a
month, which he refused to pay and instead filed a complaint with a
local judge.
He was allegedly arrested by the tax authority for operating his
store without a license, even though no other vendor was required to
have one.
He said he paid a $500 bribe to be released and get the license
so he could go back to work.
He allegedly began organizing, rallying and striking with other
business owners to "fight against General Hakopian’s corruption." They
protested the bribes, which they believed were government-sanctioned.
When Baghdasaryan began receiving threats, he stopped protesting
and paid the bribes for several years, according to his petition. He
eventually sent his wife and two children to the United States for
safety, he said, and took up organizing again with the other
merchants.
He claimed he was taken by militia men, held for 20 days and
severely beaten, because government officials thought he was
"defaming" and "raising his head" against General Hakopian.
Baghdasaryan entered the United States on a fraudulent visa in 2001.
An immigration judge rejected his bid for asylum, finding "very
little indication" that the Armenian government’s alleged harassment
of him had anything to do with his political views. The Board of
Immigration Appeals agreed.
But the 9th Circuit reversed, finding that Baghdasaryan had, in
fact, been punished for his political opinion.
"Baghdasaryan was mistreated because of his political opinion,"
Judge Harry Pregerson wrote for the Pasadena-based panel.
"Whistle-blowing against government corruption is an expression of
political opinion."
The court sent the case back to the Board of Immigration Appeals
to determine whether the mistreatment Baghdasaryan suffered "rose to
the level of persecution."
2010/01/17/23758.htm