Amos Yee, a 17-year-old Singaporean blogger, was sentenced to six weeks in prison on Thursday for "wounding religious feelings", Reuters reported. The Singapore court's sentence renews the debate over the government's restrictions on social media and freedom of expression. This will be Yee's second jail term in 2016.
The teenager accepted the charges of intentionally publishing statements and photos that were deemed offensive and critical of Christianity and Islam. The judge said Yee's behaviour could not be overlooked as it could trigger "social unrest". Reuters quoted, Yee, who described the judgement as "very fair" and said he was very remorseful about the incident. '
His previous sentence, of four weeks, was for charges of harassment and insulting a religious group following his comments on former premier Lee Kuan Yew and Christians after the leader's death.
United Nations Human Rights Council and European Union officials attended his latest case hearings, which were also monitored by human rights groups. Human Rights Watch - Asia's Deputy Director, Phil Robertson said, "By prosecuting Amos Yee for his comments, no matter how outrageous they may have been, Singapore has unfortunately doubled down on a strategy that clearly violates freedom of expression." Amnesty International urged the country to reconsider its stringent laws against peaceful dissent.
The country's legislature passed a controversial bill last month that specifies activities that can be considered as contempt of court.
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