US Judge grants political asylum to teenagers with history of making political activism videos against religions – PB/TK
With asylum grant, did the US just reward hate speech?- Patrick Reilly March 25 2017
When Singapore’s first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, passed away in 2015, 16-year-old Amos Yee made an obscenity-filled YouTube video denouncing the late leader as a “tyrant.” That and other postings earned him a four-week jail sentence for “wounding religious feelings and obscenity.” Not long after, he earned another six-week sentence for derogatory comments on Islam and Christianity.
On Friday, US Immigration Judge Samuel B. Cole granted asylum to Mr. Yee, now 18, who flew to Chicago in December. “His prosecution, detention, and general maltreatment at the hands of the Singapore authorities constitute persecution,” Judge Cole ruled. “Yee is a young political dissident, and his request for asylum is granted.”
Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs was none too pleased, saying, “Many more such people around the world, who deliberately engage in hate speech, … will no doubt take note of the US approach and consider applying for asylum in the US.”
With “hate speech” and “hate crimes” becoming a major US concern, the decision to admit an atheist blogger who spoke crudely of Muslims is sure to draw criticism. But it may also confirm that an important escape route for political dissidents is still open.
Cases like Amos’s are “actually quite common,” explains attorney Sandra Grossman, who represented Yee. “Different countries … prosecute speech that is considered critical of the government, and that’s exactly what happened in Amos’s case.”
Continue to csmonitor.com article: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Foreign-Policy/2017/0325/With-asylum-grant-did-the-US-just-reward-hate-speech
