A Singapore blogger who was jailed for blasting his government online was granted asylum to remain in the U.S., Judge Samuel Cole ruled Friday.
Amos Yee, 18, has been detained by federal immigration authorities since December when he was taken into custody at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.
Yee left Singapore with the intention of seeking asylum in the U.S. after being jailed for several weeks in 2015 and 2016. An atheist, he was accused of hurting the religious feelings of Muslims and Christians in the city-state.
Cole said testimony during Yee’s hearing showed that while the Singapore government’s stated reason for punishing him involved religion, “its real purpose was to stifle Yee’s political speech.”
Yee’s attorney Sandra Grossman said her client was elated. “He’s very excited to begin new life in the United States,” she said.
In a phone interview from jail this month Yee told the Associated Press that he feared returning
“I have an infinite amount of ideas of what to do,” he said.