Fridoon Zalberg Rawshan Nehad (Rawshan), a citizen and native of Afghanistan, was a lawful permanent resident of the United States. He had fled Afghanistan in 1989 at age 16, settled in Germany, and later immigrated to the U.S. in 2003 to live with other members of his family. He had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Rawshan was charged in June 2005 with being removable under 8 U.S.C. §1227 and retained attorney Pieter Speyer to represent him in removal proceedings. In December 2005, the immigration judge (IJ) issued a preliminary ruling sustaining the charge that Rawshan was removable for violating a protective order under California Penal Code §273.6(a). The hearing was continued to February 14, 2006 to allow Rawshan to prepare an application for asylum.
