Gor Mnatsakanyan v. ERIC H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General

This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent*
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
The Honorable James Maxwell Moody, Senior United States District**
Judge for the District of Arkansas, sitting by designation.
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
GOR MNATSAKANYAN,
Petitioner,
v.
ERIC H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General,
Respondent.
No. 09-71360
Agency No. A099-896-420
MEMORANDUM*
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Argued and Submitted April 13, 2010
San Francisco, California
Before: SCHROEDER and W. FLETCHER, Circuit Judges, and MOODY, District
Judge.**
Gor Mnatsakayan, a native and citizen of Armenia, seeks review of the
denial of asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention
FILED
APR 26 2010
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U .S. C OU R T OF APPE ALS

-- 1 of 3 --

2
Against Torture (“CAT”). The Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) denied
relief on the basis of an adverse credibility finding. We must uphold an adverse
credibility finding so long as it is supported by substantial evidence. Soto-Olarte v.
Holder, 555 F.3d 1089, 1091 (9th Cir. 2009). The provisions of the REAL ID Act
govern our review. See 8 U.S.C. § 1158(b)(1)(B)(iii); Kaur v. Gonzales, 418 F.3d
1061, 1064 n.1 (9th Cir. 2005).
Mnatsakayan claims Armenian security officials persecuted him on account
of his father’s involvement in opposition politics. Petitioner claims he was beaten
on one occasion because he did not provide information about his father’s political
activities. Although Petitioner was ably represented in this court by counsel from
the University of Idaho, we must conclude that substantial evidence supports the
adverse credibility finding. See Shrestha v. Holder, 590 F.3d 1034, 1043-44 (9th
Cir. 2010).
The BIA accurately pointed to several inconsistencies in the record that
undermine Petitioner’s credibility. They included, among others, Petitioner’s
testimony that he brought a medical report with him to the United States
documenting the injuries he suffered at his interrogation, but an Armenian notary
stamp on the document was dated several months after Petitioner came to the
United States. Also, for example, Petitioner could not name the political party his

-- 2 of 3 --

3
father supported despite knowing other specifics of his father’s activities.
Petitioner failed adequately to explain these and other inconsistencies in his story.
See id.
The petition for review is DENIED.

-- 3 of 3 --