Armenian Doctor Loses Appeal of Asylum Denial

BOSTON (CN) - An Armenian doctor did not show that she would be persecuted if she were returned to her home country, the 1st Circuit ruled.

Judge Lynch agreed with the Board of Immigration Appeals in denying the petition of Astghik Kechichian. She argued that she would suffer persecution due to the problems the government had with her father and brother, who are also doctors.

Her father and brother both fled the country after being fired from their hospital jobs. Her brother was beaten and later punished for refusing to administer lethal injections to members of the opposition party.

Kechichian's petition claimed that continuing her career in Armenia would be impossible.

"I know that I would be similarly threatened by the administration of the hospitals, which are government controlled, to follow their instructions," she said.

However, Lynch ruled that Kechichian was not in a similar situation, because she never practiced medicine in her home country.

"She has established that she graduated medical school and is licensed to practice medicine in Armenia," Lynch noted. "However, at no time has she practiced medicine in Armenia or anywhere else."

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