On Sunday afternoon, hundreds showed up for the Free Amos Yee protest at Hong Lim Park. Amos Yee, a 16-year-old blogger who has now spent 55 days in remand, got into hot water for his YouTube video criticising the late Lee Kuan Yew, which insulted Christians, as well as for putting up an obscene image of Lee and the late Margaret Thatcher on his blog.

Four speakers took to the stage to show why they are against the persecution of the teen blogger. The speakers were MARUAH’s Braema Mathi, lawyer and political detainee Teo Soh Lung, women’s rights activist Jolene Tan and Pastor Miak Siew of Free Community Church.

Unlike the recent Hong Kong student activists who urged for Amos Yee’s release, the Free Amos Yee protest had a much older gathering. The large turnout mainly consisted of middle-aged to senior folks.

This left several to question where the young people were:

Large turnout at Hong Lim Park today. Disappointing to see few young people, however. #FreeAmosYee pic.twitter.com/lr1STg4BxG

— Glendon Giam (@blueproto) July 5, 2015

Previtha Dawn, a 19-year-old NUS student, and Daven Lim, also from NUS, said that they came to the protest because they believed that Amos Yee should not be in prison. Lim added that this was also an unofficial meeting for a skeptics group that they were trying to set up at NUS. Previtha commented that there seemed to be very few young people at the event however.

Young people who did show up included several who were covering it for their school coursework, such as 17-year-old TP student Ranette Chin Binte Reeyan. “I’m just here for a school assignment,” said Ranette. “But I’m quite surprised by the turnout.” The crowd was certainly very enthusiastic, especially towards the end of the speakers’ speeches.

Teo Soh Lung was the first to lead the crowd with a chant of “Free Amos Yee!”

Jolene Tan drew cheers from her proclamation: “We are destroying a boy.” “Our society is not of one mind,” continued Tan. “We are all different…we want different things.” “There are many people who think Lee Kuan Yew was, in Amos’s words, a ‘horrible person’,” Tan said, much to uproarious applause from the crowd.

The final speaker, Pastor Miak Siew, was heckled by a cry of “Do you forgive Amos?” "I don't think there is anything to forgive," Siew replied followed by cheers and applause. Oh, and amongst the crowd, Roy Ngerng was there too:

People approaching @sexiespider at Hong Lim Park to wish him well, take photos for #FreeAmosYee pic.twitter.com/h4iEHONwQX

— Kirsten Han (@kixes) July 5, 2015

Amos Yee’s next court hearing will be taking place this afternoon.

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