Amos Yee is an 18-year-old blogger from Singapore who was jailed twice on charges of airing his political opinions. Since he qualifies as a political refugee, he was granted political asylum by a U.S. Immigration Judge in Chicago. The New York Times reports that the blogger served jail sentences in Singapore twice because of his online comments that had religious undertones.
In September last year, he plead guilty to six charges of deliberately posting comments on the internet through videos, blog posts and a picture criticizing Christianity and Islam.
He was sentenced to six weeks in jail for that offense. Earlier, in 2015, he was convicted and sent to jail for four weeks. The charges against him were of heaping insults on a religious group over comments he made about former premier Lee Kuan Yew and Christians, happening shortly after the death of Premier Lee.
His trials drew the attention of rights groups as well as the United Nations and led to debates in Singapore over issues like censorship, limits of free speech and political correctness.
Reaction of the U.S.
Amos Yee arrived in Chicago's O'Hare International Airport in search of political asylum,and, ever since his arrival, has been held by U.S. authorities -- first in Illinois and now in the Dodge County Detention Facility in Wisconsin.
His attorney is Maryland-based Sandra Grossman, and she says that Yee is eligible for release immediately because he has been held in U.S. immigration detention since Dec. 16, 2016.
Judge Samuel Cole has criticized the prosecution, detention, and maltreatment of the blogger at the hands of the Singapore authorities and, has labeled him a young political dissident.
However, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security opposed the asylum application and supported the actions of the Singapore government. Ultimately, the decision of the judge prevailed.
Bloggers are targets
Blogging is an outlet that allows the blogger to vent to his thoughts on any subject. However, when it is related to a sensitive subject like religion, opinions are divided and bloggers become easy targets to boost someone’s ego. They are physically assaulted and at times murdered. Amos Yee has certainly earned the wrath of his people.
