Human Rights Watch (HRW), a United States of America (US) founded international non-governmental organization, said that Amos Yee became a refugee in the US because of the consistent harassing and bullying of the Singapore Government. The NGO said that the Singapore Government’s eventual criminalising of Amos’ actions drove him to seek political asylum in the US.
HRW’s Deputy Asia Director, Phil Robertson said that the ” Singapore government has subjected Amos Yee to a sustained pattern of persecution, including intimidation, arrest and imprisonment, for publicly expressing his views on politics and religion, and severely criticizing the government’s leaders, including the late Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.”
He added: “Since his release from prison, Yee has faced intensive government surveillance and monitoring of his public and on-line comments.”
Mr Robertson described Amos as a “sort of classic political dissident that the UN Refugee Convention was designed to protect”. HRW hopes the US will recognize his asylum claim.
Teen blogger Amos Yee is being detained in the US while trying to seek political asylum. Amos was flagged for secondary screening at the airport where the immigration officers found text messages between Amos and an activist.
In the exchange between them they discussed making arrangements for Amos’ bid for political asylum in the United States of America. Amos was therefore compelled to tell the truth. Amos is unlikely to be released from detention until a hearing is convened.
Amos was given six weeks’ jail and fined $2,000 in total for eight charges on 29 Sep. Six of these charges were for intending to wound the feelings of Muslims and/or Christians. He was recently released on home detention.
Amos first got into trouble soon after Singapore’s founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan yew passed away in March 2015. He posted several controversial content, one which included superimposed faces of Mr Lee and former British premier Margaret Thatcher in an awkward hand-drawn cartoon.