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Lawyer: Singapore teen seeking asylum detained until hearing
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FILE - In this May, 12, 2015, file photo, Singapore teen blogger Amos Yee speaks to reporters while leaving the Subordinate Courts after being released on bail in Singapore. Yee, who is seeking seeking asylum after online posts mocking his government landed him jail, appeared in a Chicago immigration court Monday, Jan. 30, 2017, via video from an Illinois jail where he's been held since immigration authorities took him into custody at O'Hare International Airport in December 2016. Yee's attorneys submitted his asylum application Monday.
(AP/Wong Maye-E)
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Singapore teen seeking asylum after blog posts mocking his government landed him jail will remain in U.S. custody until a Chicago immigration court hearing next month.
Amos Yee's attorneys said Friday that immigration authorities denied a request for his release. He's been detained since Dec. 16 when he was taken into custody at O'Hare International Airport.
His hearing is March 7.
(Read also: Trump's ban dashes hope for many asylum-seekers)
Attorney Sandra Grossman submitted his asylum application this week, saying it was unclear whether he'd be released from an Illinois jail during the proceedings. She says he'll be imprisoned longer in the U.S. than he was in Singapore.
In Singapore, the 18-year-old was jailed twice on charges of hurting the religious feelings of Christians and Muslims. Grossman says he was persecuted based on laws restricting freedom of expression.(dan)
