White & Case won an asylum case in the Immigration Court of Baltimore on behalf of Ms. AA, a political activist from a country in the Middle East, who sought asylum in the United States after enduring years of persecution by her government and a radical religious sect.

For the past 25 years, Ms. AA has actively promoted political and social reform in her country, with an emphasis on women's rights. Because of her activities and progressive beliefs, she was imprisoned, tortured, raped, impregnated, and violently threatened by vigilante groups. The government arrested her husband, who is also an activist, at a 2006 political protest and he has not been seen since. Finally, after her daughter was kidnapped and beaten by radical vigilantes in 2007, Ms. AA escaped her country fearing for her life and the lives of her family.

A US immigration officer denied Ms. AA's original application for asylum and the Tahirih Justice Center referred the case to White & Case to represent her in her removal proceedings. White & Case successfully demonstrated to the Immigration Court of Baltimore that Ms. AA had been persecuted in the past and had a well-founded fear of future persecution if returned to her country. In addition to substantial evidence of the repression of opposition activists in Ms. AA's country, White & Case presented the Court with testimony and affidavits from experts on the politics of the region, an evaluation from a psychiatrist who is an expert on torture, and first-hand witness accounts of the events that occurred in Ms. AA's country.

In a merits hearing on May 1, 2009, the Court heard our arguments, and the testimony of Ms. AA and others. The Hon. John Gossart, Jr., issued his decision and order from the bench granting Ms. AA's application for asylum. The US government waived its right of appeal and the decision is now final. Judge Gossart thanked White & Case on the record for representing Ms. AA pro bono, and asked the team to relay the Court's gratitude to the rest of the Firm.

Washington, DC: Tamer Nagy Mahmoud, Alexandra Meise Bay, Chika Duru, Alex Khachaturian, Lauren Mandell, Christina Abossedgh.

To submit information for Globally Noted, please contact . Archived editions of Globally Noted are searchable by key word.