Antonyan v. Mukasey
Antonyan v. Mukasey
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM
Hayk Antonyan, a native and citizen of Armenia, petitions for review of a final order of removal issued by the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”).
The Immigration Judge (“IJ”) denied Antonyan’s asylum application, concluding that Antonyan was not credible.
We hold that the IJ did not err in concluding that Antonyan presented conflicting testimony and evidence regarding his stay in an Armenian hospital. This evidence goes to the heart of Antonyan’s claim of persecution at the hands of Armenian military officials. If, as the documentary evidence showed, Antonyan was in the hospital because of a fall, rather than because of beatings by government officials, then his grounds for asylum are substantially undercut. We cannot say here that the evidence “compels the conclusion that the asylum decision was incorrect.” Kataria v. INS, 232 F.3d 1107, 1112 (9th Cir. 2000). We therefore affirm the IJ’s adverse credibility determination,
Antonyan also contends that the BIA erred by not specifically stating whether he was eligible for relief under the Convention Against Torture. We lack subject matter jurisdiction to address this claim because Antonyan did not present it to the BIA, and thereby did not exhaust his administrative remedies. See Barron v. Ashcroft, 358 F.3d 674, 678 (9th Cir. 2004).
PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
. Because the parties are familiar with the facts and procedural history, we do not restate them here except as necessary to explain our disposition.
. Because we affirm the IJ's adverse credibility determination, we do not reach Antonyan’s challenge to the IJ’s alternate ground for denying Antonyan's asylum application, namely that Antonyan had firmly resettled in Russia.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.