Singaporean asylum seeker Amos Yee, 18, could remain in US jail until March, lawyer reveals
Teen blogger appears before Chicago court via video link and formally submits asylum application
Singaporean teenager Amos Yee, who has been held in a Chicago jail since mid-December pending a political asylum bid, could find himself remaining behind bars until March, his lawyer said on Tuesday after an initial court hearing.
If the 18-year-old is detained until his next court hearing – scheduled for March 7 – he would have spent almost as many days in an American jail as the total prison time he served in Singapore for various offences linked to his online commentary.
Yee is seeking asylum in the United States because of the punishment he faced in Singapore, which he deems to be aimed at curbing his dissenting views on the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP).
He served two jail stints – 53 days in 2015 and three weeks in 2016 – for denigrating religion and insulting the country’s late founding leader Lee Kuan Yew on his blog and on social media.
“It is up to Immigration and Customs Enforcement whether they will release him [before the court date],” Sandra Grossman, Yee’s US-based pro bono lawyer, told This Week in Asia.