Amos Yee

Amos Yee has complained to blogger Han Hui Hui that the activists in Singapore are not exerting enough pressure on the judge in the USA, so that he could get out of jail sooner. He said that Singaporean activists should hold protests about his incarceration and also blog about it to influence the judge’s decision.

The following is a transcript of Amos’ phone conversation with Ms Han.


“I am Amos from American jail. I am very disappointed that there has not been enough publicity on my case right now. And because of that, you haven’t been able to effectively pressurise the Court judge to make my date as soon as possible. 
Right now the judge is taking his own sweet time in making his written decision. And because all of you did not pressurise and show great faith, he is taking his own free time and because of that I am in jail far longer. 
All of you need pressurise him much more. You all need to make it as quick as possible. Do as many public protests and many reports. I will give you any reports that any reporters want. You all need to pressurise him so that I can get out of jail earlier. 
The jail conditions are @#$%& horrible. You all should know it. You all should make it as quick as possible. <jumbled noise>is not strategic. You guys are @#$%& up. You guys should @#$%& pressurise the judge to make it as quick as possible.”


Yee made his first appearance at an immigration court in Chicago on 30 Jan.  The blogger claimed that the American authorities backtracked on their promise to release him from the American jail after his first hearing. His next hearing is set for 7 March.

Yee landed in Chicago O-Hare Airport on 16 Dec with a tourist visa and was detained by the US authorities when they discovered text messages between him and a US-based Singaporean activist, Melissa Chen, about his bid for political asylum in America.

Yee had earlier said that America’s immigration policies were repressive, that “tens of thousands of people have already suffered from these policies”, and that he was speaking up against them. Amos’ rant against the American system is a U-Turn from his earlier post where he said that incarceration in the US “is far better than Singaporean jail.”

Yee also likened his actions for immigration reforms in the US to that of “Gandhi, Einstein, Martin Luther King Jr, and to Jesus Christ”, Yee asked his fans to join his resistance.

He further said that the he has no intention of returning to Singapore as he does not want to do National Service. Last month he appealed for $10,000 to be donated towards his relocation to the US. To date, about $3,000 has been pledged to his relocation fund.