…
AMOS YEE served two prison terms for wounding religious feelings.
In September 2016, he was jailed six weeks and fined $2,000 for eight charges – two for failing to turn up at a police station and six for intending to wound the feelings of Muslims and/or Christians.
In July 2015, he served a four-week sentence for making remarks that were derogatory and offensive to Christians in an online video.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/teenage-blogger-amos-yee-detained-in-united-states
…
26 April 2017
The Straits TimesVerified account @STcom
Amos Yee faces more time in detention as US government appeals asylum decision
WASHINGTON – The US government is appealing a Chicago immigration judge’s decision to grant asylum to 18 year old Singaporean Amos Yee, currently in detention in a facility in northern Wisconsin.
Mr Yee who arrived in the US last December and applied for political asylum alleging persecution in Singapore, was placed in detention but had his request granted by a court in March. However, he remained in detention pending the appeal.
There will be no full hearing of the appeal; instead it will be a review of written documents.
“We’ll be submitting to the Board of Immigration Appeals a written memorandum outlining our arguments why this is a valid asylum case” his attorney Chris Keeler, from the firm Grossman Law, told The Straits Times.
“The government would say why it is not, and the Board will make their decision based on the written memorandums which are due by May 11.”
Mr Keeler said it was difficult to predict how long the process would take after the Board received the written arguments. “My estimate would be a month, or month and a half, but it could be a lot shorter or longer, it depends on what’s going on in the Board,” he told The Straits Times by phone.
The decision of the Board could still be appealed by either party in a federal court, Mr Keeler said.
Further, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has the authority to hold an asylum seeker until their immigration decision is final, and as long as an appeal is pending it is not final.
…
25 March 2017
Reuters Top NewsVerified account @Reuters
U.S. judge grants Singaporean blogger’s asylum request
A U.S. immigration judge in Chicago on Friday granted asylum to a Singaporean blogger, saying he was persecuted for his political opinions in the Southeast Asian city-state.
Amos Yee, 18, who had been jailed twice in Singapore, qualifies as a political refugee, according to a 13-page opinion by the U.S. immigration judge.
Yee is immediately eligible for release after having been held in U.S. immigration detention since Dec. 16, 2016, according to his attorney, Sandra Grossman, who is based in Bethesda, Maryland.
The Singapore Embassy in Washington could not be reached for comment after business hours on Friday evening.
Judge Samuel Cole ruled Yee’s prosecution, detention and maltreatment at the hands of the Singapore authorities “constitute(s) persecution on account of Yee’s political opinions,” and called him a “young political dissident.
“The evidence presented at the hearing demonstrates Singapore’s prosecution of Yee was a pretext to silence his political opinions critical of the Singapore government,” Cole wrote.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security had opposed Yee’s asylum application, claiming the Singapore government legitimately prosecuted Yee.
Grossman said the judge’s decision supported the right of individuals to criticize their government.
“The right to free speech is sacred, even when such speech is considered offensive,” she said in an email. “The decision timely underscores the vital need for an independent judiciary in a functioning democracy.”
(Reporting by Timothy Mclaughlin in Chicago, writing by Ben Klayman in Detroit; editing by Diane Craft)
…
23 Dec 2016
Melissa Chen Retweeted Melissa Chen
I’ve been helping @amosyee apply for #politicalasylum in the US since earlier this year. He is here now and is detained by @ICEgov
Melissa Chen Just holding a sign like this in a public gathering is probably illegal in #Singapore. #FreeAmosYee #ReasonRally
..
SINGAPORE – Teenage blogger Amos Yee has been detained in the United States over immigration-related matters.
According to the United States’ Immigration and Customs Enforcement website, an “Amos Pang Sang Yee” from Singapore is currently detained at the McHenry County Jail, an hour’s drive from Chicago.
There were no other details about the detention on the website, but the South China Morning Post reported on Friday (Dec 23) that the 18-year-old was detained after he landed at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport on Dec 16.
The paper quoted US-based Singaporean activist Melissa Chen as saying he had entered the US on a tourist visa, but was detained following a secondary screening in which he told immigration officers he was seeking asylum.
According to the US Department of Homeland Security, asylum may be granted to those who are unable or unwilling to return to their home country.
This must be due to persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution because of the asylum seeker’s race, religion, nationality, membership in a partic
…
weehingthong 
Pityhismum
Pingback: Amos Yee is still in America but faces 18 charges, including grooming, indecently soliciting a child and possessing child pornography. | weehingthong