Ethiopian client wins U.S. political asylum

Client(s) Ethiopian applicant for U.S. asylum

On November 27, 2006, Jonathan Berman and James McOmber of Jones Day Washington secured asylum status for a client fleeing persecution in Ethiopia. The client, a citizen of Ethiopia, had joined an organization that opposed various government policies, and he participated in political rallies sponsored by this organization. The government of Ethiopia arrested, jailed and beat him for these activities. In addition, Ethiopian security forces killed, jailed, and abused members of his family, and it banned the political organization and jailed its leaders. Jones Day represented him in his efforts to obtain asylum status in the United States, which was granted after an evidentiary hearing before the Immigration Court in Arlington, Virginia.