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Tag: Asylum

  • Amos Yee Reportedly Robbed By Muscular Fellow Inmate

    Amos Yee Reportedly Robbed By Muscular Fellow Inmate

    Recently in prison Amos has been repeatedly robbed by a man named Emmanuel Reyes, also known as “Bubba.” Reyes is a 6’4” (1.93 m) 250 lbs (113.4 kg) muscular Black man covered in tattoos. Reyes is in prison for illegal weapons charges and for assault. Reyes was in possession of an illegal gun and he beat up his cousin after his cousin wanted to evict Reyes over constant noise complaints.

    Prisoners are allowed to purchase additional food and snacks at the prison kiosk with money sent to their commissary account by family and friends. Amos receives money on his account thanks to donations from people who care about him and is able to buy additional food.

    Reyes began targeting Amos and numerous other prisoners to intimidate and steal food from. Reyes specifically targeted Amos, Amos’s Filipino friend, Asians, and the elderly as he viewed them as easy targets. Reyes was recently placed into solitary confinement after attacking another inmate. Reyes approached a 72-year-old inmate and demanded that the man give him his chips. The 72-year-old man refused to give up his food so Reyes beat him badly.

    During Reyes’s solitary confinement, Amos requested that he be moved to a different part of the prison due to harassment. The prison honored his request. Amos’s Filipino friend, Jay, also made the same request for the same reason and was also transferred. Amos and his friend Jay are now safe after that ordeal.

     

    Source: Amos Yee

  • Amos Yee Granted US Asylum

    Amos Yee Granted US Asylum

    CHICAGO — A US immigration judge in Chicago on Friday (March 24, US time) granted asylum to a Singaporean blogger, saying he was persecuted for his political opinions in the Republic.

    Amos Yee, 18, who had been jailed twice in Singapore, qualifies as a political refugee, according to a 13-page opinion by the US immigration judge.

    Amos is immediately eligible for release after having been held in US immigration detention since Dec 16, 2016, according to his attorney, Ms 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 Amos’ prosecution, detention and maltreatment at the hands of the Singapore authorities “constitute(s) persecution on account of Amos’ political opinions”, and called him a “young political dissident”.

    “The evidence presented at the hearing demonstrates Singapore’s prosecution of Amos was a pretext to silence his political opinions critical of the Singapore government,” Mr Cole wrote.

    The US Department of Homeland Security had opposed Amos’ asylum application, claiming the Singapore government legitimately prosecuted Amos.

    Ms Grossman said the judge’s decision supported the right of individuals to criticise 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.”

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

     

  • Amos Yee Allegedly In Solitary Confinement In The US For Insulting Muslims In Jail

    Amos Yee Allegedly In Solitary Confinement In The US For Insulting Muslims In Jail

    According to a Facebook post which has since been deleted, teen blogger Amos Yee is currently in solitary confinement for criticising Muslims and Islam during their Muslim Studies in jail; and that he is feeling terrible about it.

    According to Nina Palay who set up the relocation fund appeal for Yee, this is what happened.

    “He attended a Muslim Studies class, in order to “disagree”. There was a “Muslim pastor” from outside (not a prisoner) and about 18 Muslim prisoners in attendance. Amos called Allah a “sky wizard”. He said that if the religion is 5,000 years old then it’s “complete fucking garbage”. (He said “fuck” a lot). He said that the Quran has passages instructing the devout to kill non-Muslims; the pastor handed him the Quran and challenged him to show such passages, and when Amos said “Ok, I will”, the pastor took the Quran back.

    The pastor claimed “The Quran was the most respected and popular book in the U.S.”

    The pastor said Amos was disturbing the peace or something and got Sergeant R.Henson to sign a form putting him in solitary. Amos is certain that he is in solitary for punitive reasons, not for his own protection.

    He has been in solitary for 3 days. He doesn’t know how long he will be there. They don’t let him write, don’t give him paper. They let him out for one hour per day.

    Amos was “kicking, screaming, and banging the door yelling “LET ME OUT”, other prisoners heard him, the “police” came, opened his door, took a look, and left.

    Amos wants us to “tell his story” on Facebook, share with the global secular human rights movement, get on CNN and the Rubin Report. He wants the Rubin Report to interview me and Melissa to tell Amos’s story. “These people don’t know what they’re messing with. We gotta destroy them.” “MAKE IT BIG”. “This is a free speech issue and everyone will be on my side”.

    ++++

    My main concern right now is for Amos’s mental health. Solitary must be making it much worse.”

     

    Source: www.theindependent.sg

  • Amos Yee May Have To Wait Years In Asylum Bid

    Amos Yee May Have To Wait Years In Asylum Bid

    HONG KONG – Controversial Singaporean blogger Amos Yee, who is currently seeking asylum in the United States, may face years of waiting before knowing if he will be granted citizenship, according to his lawyer.

    The 18-year-old was taken into custody after he landed at Chicago O’Hare Airport on Dec 16. He is currently detained at the McHenry County jail.

    His lawyer, Ms Sandra Grossman, said Amos was likely to have been detained because he entered the US on a tourist visa, despite “an intention to apply for asylum or remain” in the country, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.

    To obtain political asylum, the teenage blogger would have to be assessed by an asylum official to determine if he faces a “credible fear of persecution or torture”, a process that usually takes days to complete.

    If he passes the assessment, he would likely be released from detention and allowed to remain in the US while awaiting a court hearing on his asylum bid.

    But the holiday season could delay his assessment, and it would take years before Amos gets the chance to appear before a judge, due to backlogs in the immigration system, Ms Grossman added.

    “Once his case goes before an immigration judge, I think his chances are extremely high,” she was quoted by SCMP as saying.

    Amos first came to the attention of the authorities back home last year when he posted a video online making offensive remarks about former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and insulting Christianity.

    He later served two prison terms for wounding religious feelings. He was jailed for four weeks in July last year and sentenced to six weeks’ jail in September this year.

     

    Source: www,straitstimes.com