ABUSED CONGOLESE WOMAN WINS CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE CLAIM Diebo Kuna was recently granted asylum and released from the Elizabeth Detention Center in New Jersey, where she was the longest serving female detainee, having spent almost two and a half years there. When she arrived in Boston from the Congo in 1998, she told immigration officials that she was using her sister’s passport, and she showed them a letter detailing the years of abuse she suffered at the hands of her husband.
The INS had said that while it believed her story, it had no choice but to deny her application. While she demonstrated that she was the victim of serious domestic abuse, according to the INS, Kuna could not show that the abuse was on account of a protected ground – race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. She came within hours of being deported last February. Only a last minute application for a stay of deportation allowed her to stay in the US.
Meanwhile, attorneys also filed an application under the United Nations Convention Against Torture to prevent her deportation. This application was approved earlier this week. According to Kuna, her husband had become increasingly violent after she became pregnant with their fourth child in 1991. She said she feared reporting him to authorities because of his ties to former Congolese president Mobutu Sese Seko. After one particularly violent attack, her son took her to her brother’s house. When the brother confronted Kuna’s husband, the husband stabbed him.
Although not eligible for asylum, Kuna was found eligible for protection under the Convention Against Torture. This is because the CAT provides protection to those who face torture from any source, while asylum results only from persecution at the hands of the government. Also, while she no longer faces return to Congo, she does not have many of the benefits of asylum. For example, she is not eligible for permanent residency, and she cannot file a petition for her children to be reunited with her in the US. < Back | Next > Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided as a public service and not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk. | 
