As l’enfant terrible Amos Yee awaits a verdict in court today, non-governmental organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW) has sounded out their displeasure of the treatment he has received under Singapore law and urged local authorities to exonerate the 16-year-old boy.
As everyone should know by now, Yee was hauled to court in the weeks following the late Lee Kuan Yew’s death after he uploaded an allegedly obscene image and making offensive remarks about Christianity in a YouTube rant against Singapore’s first prime minister.
The teen was found guilty of both charges of circulating an obscene image online and hurting religious feelings of Christians.
Of course with such a highly publicised affair for a teenager who only ran his mouth off too much, Yee’s case attracted international attention, especially so for international rights group HRW.
“Nothing that Amos Yee said or posted should ever have been considered criminal – much less merit incarceration,” deputy Asia director Phil Robertson remarked yesterday. “The dismal state of Singapore’s respect for free expression can be seen in the decision to impose the criminal justice system on outspoken 16-year-olds.”
The HRW goes on to note that the Singapore government has gone out their way to restrict the boy’s free expression rights, including a gag order that prevented him from posting anything online and jailing him for a nonviolent offence.
The group also accuses Singapore authorities of violating rights protected under the Child Rights Convention, which states that children are only to be detained “as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time”.
“Any further incarceration of Yee will just compound the damage to Singapore’s already poor reputation on basic freedoms,” Robertson said. “Nothing short of Yee’s release and the dismissal of all charges will vindicate Singapore’s justice system.”
In court today, District Judge Jasvender Kaur will announce her decision if Yee should undergo reformative training, a rehabilitative sentencing option for young offenders aged under 21 deemed unsuitable for probation. Sort of like juvenile prison, as it includes structured rehabilitation programmes, foot drills and counselling, and will last between 18 to 30 months.
Photo: Amos Yee Facebook Page
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