## Facts

- Tarek Ghebllawi, a Libyan national, entered the United States in 1980 on a student visa funded by the Libyan government.
- While in the United States, he joined an opposition Libyan student organization and participated in anti-regime demonstrations in multiple states.
- During demonstrations he spoke while hooded and believed his voice was recognized by pro-regime Libyans.
- In 1984, after a confrontation with members of a pro-regime Libyan student group in Portland, Ghebllawi and a friend were threatened.
- The Libyan government requested that he return to Libya; when he did not, it reduced and then terminated his scholarship support.
- Ghebllawi’s close friend and roommate, Salem Glali, returned to Libya in 1984 to attempt violent action against the regime and was killed.
- After Glali’s death, Libyan agents contacted Ghebllawi’s family, inquiring about his return; his brother was harassed and pressured to persuade him to return, and warned Ghebllawi that the government was looking for him.
- In deportation proceedings, Ghebllawi applied for asylum and withholding; the Immigration Judge denied relief and the BIA dismissed the appeal, finding no well-founded fear of persecution.
- Ghebllawi petitioned for judicial review of the BIA’s asylum-eligibility determination.

## Issues

1. Whether substantial evidence supported the BIA’s finding that Ghebllawi failed to establish a well-founded fear of persecution on account of political opinion under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(42).
2. Whether the BIA improperly discounted evidence of threats, government interest, family harassment, economic sanctions, and risk from association with a killed dissident in assessing objective reasonableness.

## Decision

- The Ninth Circuit granted the petition for review and reversed the BIA’s denial of asylum eligibility.
- The court held that the record compelled the conclusion that Ghebllawi had a well-founded fear of persecution on account of political opinion if returned to Libya.
- The matter was remanded for further proceedings consistent with the determination that Ghebllawi met the statutory definition of a refugee (leaving any discretionary grant of asylum to the agency).

## Legal Principles

- Asylum eligibility requires a “well-founded fear of persecution” on a protected ground, including political opinion, with both subjective fear and an objectively reasonable basis.
- The objective component may be established through specific, credible evidence considered cumulatively, including threats, government inquiries, economic retaliation, and treatment of family members.
- Risk of persecution may be based on imputed political opinion and association with known opponents; persecutors may target associates without drawing fine distinctions between peaceful and violent opposition.
- A reviewing court may reverse the BIA when the record evidence compels a conclusion contrary to the agency’s determination under the substantial-evidence standard.

## Conclusion

The Ninth Circuit concluded that threats tied to Ghebllawi’s anti-regime activity, the Libyan government’s efforts to compel his return through financial and familial pressure, and the danger flowing from his association with a killed dissident collectively compelled a finding of a well-founded fear of persecution, making him eligible for asylum.


Ghebllawi v. Immigr. & Naturalization Serv., 28 F.3d 83 (9th Cir. 1994)