U.S. judge to rule on Singaporean blogger's asylum request

By Timothy Mclaughlin

REUTERS

 

FILE PHOTO: Teen blogger Amos Yee leaves with his parents after his sentencing from the State Court in Singapore July 6, 2015. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo

 

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A judge is expected to issue a decision in the case of a Singaporean blogger who is seeking asylum in the United States in around two weeks, his lawyer said on Tuesday.

 

Amos Yee, 18, who has been jailed twice in the Southeast Asian city-state, has been held at a detention facility outside of Chicago since arriving at O'Hare International Airport on Dec. 16 seeking political asylum.

 

After an hours-long hearing in a federal immigration court in Chicago, Sandra Grossman, Yee's attorney, said a written decision would be issued in around two weeks.

 

The hearing was closed to the press to protect the identity of an individual providing testimony, Grossman said, and details were not released.

 

Yee appeared by video for the hearing, Grossman said.

 

Kenneth Jeyaretnam, secretary general of the Reform Party, an opposition party in Singapore, said he gave testimony on the country's treatment of political dissidents.

 

Jeyaretnam, who spoke outside the court room on Tuesday, has said previously he supports Yee's asylum application and that the government of Singapore has persecuted and harassed Yee.

 

The Singapore Embassy in Washington could not be reached for comment regarding Yee's case because it was after business hours.

 

Yee has been jailed twice in Singapore for online comments. His trials, which have been closely watched by rights groups and the United Nations, have fuelled the debate in Singapore over censorship, the limits of free speech and political correctness.

 

In September of last year, Yee pleaded guilty to six charges of deliberately posting comments on the internet - in videos, blog posts and a picture - that were critical of Christianity and Islam. He was sentenced to six weeks in jail.

 

In 2015, Yee was convicted on charges of harassment and insulting a religious group over comments he made about former premier Lee Kuan Yew and Christians soon after Lee's death. His sentence at the time amounted to four weeks in jail.

 

(Reporting by Timothy Mclaughlin in Chicago; Editing by Leslie Adler)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-03-08

I question the ability of anyone aged 18 to understand about social organisation, which is what the government is trying to protect.

Having said that, Singapore is a nation of automata. He will be better off out of it.

He looks like a very troubled teenager who needs a hairstylist.

Chicago mid-winter hairstylists who care to go to the US Federal Prison (the detention center), demand high wages and all scissors must be dulled and no razors allowed.  So, no wonder after nearly 90 days in the slammer the kid looks grungy.  Let me advise that  you would look no better.

If allowed to stay in USA i hope he can sharpen his pen on Trump's case.

I was banned from Singapore for 10 years for writing an article suggesting that Singapore should have free and fair elections. It appeared in the Bangkok post. Singapore has only one real freedom and that is you can make as much money as you want without harassment.

On 3/8/2017 at 10:44 AM, ddavidovsky said:

I question the ability of anyone aged 18 to understand about social organisation, which is what the government is trying to protect.

Having said that, Singapore is a nation of automata. He will be better off out of it.

Stay home or not, I don't care but why the US? We don't need or want any more toss-offs from other countries or hasn't that point been made abundantly clear yet? The boy hates religion so, he wants to come to the states? Good call. 

Brave boy to stick his neck out. Of course he deserves asylum...probably won't get it though as these matters are subject to the whim and fancy of people who belong IN an asylum.

4 hours ago, mrwebb8825 said:

Stay home or not, I don't care but why the US? We don't need or want any more toss-offs from other countries or hasn't that point been made abundantly clear yet?

That's made me laugh. The country was populated with them during two hundred years of no holds barred immigration. Now you, whose Great Great Grandfather was probably one of those you so politely describe says you don't want anymore.  How funny. I would take a different tack now, I would make it law that anyone wishing to emigrate to the US must have a psychological assessment as part of their visa program. At that point you can reject them all for  being insane as clearly they must be for wanting to reside in such a screwed up country. The American dream is now just that - a dream, one of those dreams that you kind of remember a little about from last night but 99% of the detail is lost. I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would want to emigrate to the US when there are so many more glorious countries around the world.

18 hours ago, Andaman Al said:

That's made me laugh. The country was populated with them during two hundred years of no holds barred immigration. Now you, whose Great Great Grandfather was probably one of those you so politely describe says you don't want anymore.  How funny. I would take a different tack now, I would make it law that anyone wishing to emigrate to the US must have a psychological assessment as part of their visa program. At that point you can reject them all for  being insane as clearly they must be for wanting to reside in such a screwed up country. The American dream is now just that - a dream, one of those dreams that you kind of remember a little about from last night but 99% of the detail is lost. I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would want to emigrate to the US when there are so many more glorious countries around the world.

Times are changing and laws about miscreants must change also. During "Them 200 of no holds barred immigration", any and all who were deemed unfit to reside in an agreeable society were hanged or shot. Now they're just being deported but hey, we could go back to the hanging and shooting. Sure would save on transportation cost and pollution.