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Singaporean blogger detained by U.S. immigration officials
Source: Reuters
U.S. | Fri Dec 23, 2016 | 4:52pm EST
Singaporean blogger detained by U.S. immigration officials
By Timothy Mclaughlin and Renita D. Young | CHICAGO
A Singaporean blogger who has stirred controversy in his home country is being detained by U.S. immigration officials, the Department of Homeland Security said on Friday.
Amos Yee, 18, who was jailed earlier this year in the Southeast Asian city-state, was stopped by customs agents at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on Dec. 16 as he sought political asylum in the United States, his mother said.
"Amos is being detained in the US right now. He is seeking political asylum in the US. The matter is now with his lawyers. I will not be speaking to the press or anyone on this matter," Mary Toh, Yee's mother, said in a statement posted to Facebook on Friday evening Singapore time.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
In September, Yee pleaded guilty to six charges of deliberately posting comments on the internet - in videos, blog posts and a picture - that were critical of Christianity and Islam. He was sentenced to six weeks in jail.
Last year, Yee was convicted on charges of harassment and insulting a religious group over comments he made about former premier Lee Kuan Yew and Christians soon after Lee's death. His sentence at the time amounted to four weeks in jail.
(Additional reporting by Fathin Ungku in Singapore; Editing by Andrew Hay)
Singaporean blogger detained by U.S. immigration officials
By Timothy Mclaughlin and Renita D. Young | CHICAGO
A Singaporean blogger who has stirred controversy in his home country is being detained by U.S. immigration officials, the Department of Homeland Security said on Friday.
Amos Yee, 18, who was jailed earlier this year in the Southeast Asian city-state, was stopped by customs agents at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on Dec. 16 as he sought political asylum in the United States, his mother said.
"Amos is being detained in the US right now. He is seeking political asylum in the US. The matter is now with his lawyers. I will not be speaking to the press or anyone on this matter," Mary Toh, Yee's mother, said in a statement posted to Facebook on Friday evening Singapore time.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
In September, Yee pleaded guilty to six charges of deliberately posting comments on the internet - in videos, blog posts and a picture - that were critical of Christianity and Islam. He was sentenced to six weeks in jail.
Last year, Yee was convicted on charges of harassment and insulting a religious group over comments he made about former premier Lee Kuan Yew and Christians soon after Lee's death. His sentence at the time amounted to four weeks in jail.
(Additional reporting by Fathin Ungku in Singapore; Editing by Andrew Hay)
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-singapore-blogger-idUSKBN14C290