Singapore, 17 year old blogger jailed for insulting Islam and Christianity
Amos Yee was already jailed in 2015 for criticizing the "founder" of the city-state, Lee Kuan Yew, a few hours after his death. He will serve six weeks in prison because his actions "may generate social unrest". Human Rights lawyers accuse the government of violating freedom of expression.
Singapore (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The 17 year old blogger Amos Yee has been sentenced to six weeks in prison for six counts of indictment, including having "offended religious sentiments" criticizing Islam and Christianity in a few posts published online. The court's decision came today after a month-long trial: "Amos Yee’s actions - said judge Ong Hian Sun - could generate social unrest".
The young man’s lawyers have not commented on the ruling, which is criticized by several human rights lawyers. Condemning Yee, they say, violates freedom of expression in Singapore and generates further attention to the contents of the blog they want to obscure.
It is not the first time that Amos Yee has been convicted of similar crimes. Last year, the boy served four weeks in prison for posting a video online critical of Lee Kuan Yew, the historical founder of the city-state who died last March 23 at the age of 91. On that occasion he had also offended the Christian religion.
In Singapore, 23% of the population is Christian, 15% Muslim. In recent years there has been an increase of atheist or non-affiliated persons of any creed, which account for about 17% of the total.
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