A teenage blogger from Singapore who was imprisoned after criticizing the country’s government on the internet has been given asylum in the US by a federal immigration judge. Judge Samuel Cole gave the ruling on Friday, allowing 18-year-old Amos Yee, to stay in the country.
The teen blogger has been held in detention for three months, since December, by federal immigration authorities after he was taken into custody at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. Yee came to the US from Singapore intending to claim asylum after being put in jail in 2015 and 2016 for several weeks. Yee was alleged to have hurt the religious feelings of Christians and Muslims in the city-state, due to his outspoken atheist views.
But Cole says that Yee’s hearing demonstrated to his satisfaction that, although religion was the reason stated by the Singapore government for their punishment of him, the true purpose was to stifle his freedom of speech. Sandra Grossman, the attorney who represented Yee in his bid to be given asylum and permitted to remain in the US, says the teenager was elated and thrilled to be able to start a new life in the US.
Earlier this month, the Associated Press conducted a phone interview with Yee while he was behind bars. He claimed that he was afraid he would be sent back to Singapore but would not stop speaking out on issues he believes in.