FILED United States Court of Appeals UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Tenth Circuit FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT April 6, 2021 _________________________________ Christopher M. Wolpert Clerk of Court SANTOSH SHARMA, Petitioner, v. No. 20-9554 (Petition for Review) MERRICK B. GARLAND, United States Attorney General, * Respondent. _________________________________ ORDER AND JUDGMENT ** _________________________________ Before PHILLIPS, McHUGH, and CARSON, Circuit Judges. _________________________________ Santosh Sharma, a native and citizen of Nepal, applied for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) based on his political opinion. The Board of Immigration Appeals (Board or BIA) affirmed the immigration judge’s denial of relief, and Sharma now petitions for * On March 11, 2021, Merrick B. Garland became Attorney General of the United States. Consequently, his name has been substituted for William P. Barr as Respondent, per Fed. R. App. P. 43(c)(2). ** After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined unanimously to honor the parties’ request for a decision on the briefs without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(f); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is therefore submitted without oral argument. This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1. review of the Board’s decision. Exercising jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a), we deny the petition for review. BACKGROUND Sharma joined the Nepali Congress Party in March 2017. On November 19, 2017, just before an election, he was approached by members of the Young Communist League (YCL), the youth arm of the Communist Party of Nepal (the Maoists). They asked him to leave the Nepali Congress Party and campaign for the Maoists. He did not do so, and a few days later, on November 23, the YCL members returned and punched, kicked, and beat him with sticks. He suffered cuts on his arm and hands, but he did not lose consciousness or seek medical attention other than treatment by a health assistant at home. He did not report this incident to authorities. Instead, he moved to his aunt’s house, several hours away from his parents’ village. Nearly a year later, on November 12, 2018, Sharma was beaten by a different group of YCL members. They told him “you can’t hide from us. Anywhere you go, we will find you. You can’t be safe anywhere.” Admin. R. Vol. 1 at 119 (internal quotation marks omitted). One person hit him in the back with a helmet, causing him to fall down, and then the group punched and kicked him. He suffered redness and swelling, but “did not have wounds” and “managed to run away.” Id. at 120. He again did not seek medical attention or report the incident to authorities. He hid at a neighbor’s home for two days and then fled to Delhi, India. After traveling through numerous countries, Sharma entered the United States …
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