As hundreds of his supporters gathered outside the building, an Irish rapper group called Kneecap, who is accused of “terrorism” allegedly, made an appearance in court in London.
One month after being accused of allegedly waving the flag of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah at a concert in the UK’s capital in November, Liam O’Hanna, who performs under the name Mo Chara, entered Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday morning.
It is against British law to display articles that promote extremist organizations like Hezbollah.
The charge of “terrorism” has been dropped by Kneecap, a Belfast-based group that raps in English but mostly uses Gaeilge, the Irish language.
We vehemently defend ourselves and deny this “offence.” Political policing is involved here. The band wrote on X last month that this is a carnival of distractions.
Last month, O’Hanna claimed the event was an attempt to “silence us” at London’s Wide Awake Festival.
The band has long criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza, claiming that it is “genocide,” which the Israeli government denies.
The rapper’s alleged stance on Israel and Palestine was made known in court on Wednesday, according to the prosecution.
According to prosecutor Michael Bisgrove, “he is well within his rights to express his opinions and show his solidarity, just like everyone else.”
The video recording shows that Mr. O’Hanna wore and displayed the Hezbollah flag while yelling “up Hamas, up Hezbollah” in November of last year.
The defendant’s attorney, Brenda Campbell, disputed that the charge was brought too late because it occurred more than six months after the alleged crime was committed at a concert in Kentish Town, north London.
If we are correct, Campbell argued, “This court has no jurisdiction, and the case is over,” and that is what happened.
A second hearing would be held on August 20 to evaluate whether the defense’s assessment was accurate.
Kneecap took to X to report that dozens of Palestinians had been killed by Israeli soldiers in Gaza on Tuesday while waiting for aid truck drivers.
While doing so, they will try to demonize Mo Chara as a terrorist tomorrow, Kneecap continued.
An Irish activist who used the name Patrick to refer to Patrick outside the courtroom in London on Wednesday referred to the charge against O’Hanna as “nonsense.”
He told Al Jazeera, “This case has all the characteristics of a political show trial.”
Sarah Cotte, age 21, claimed that the group was being “targeted because they have shown unwavering and unbowed solidarity with the Irish people and the Palestinian struggle.”
A semi-fictional film about the band won numerous awards, including one at the Sundance Film Festival, and the band rose to fame last year.
Paul Weller and Brian Eno, two well-known British musicians, have praised the Irish trio’s support, calling it a “concerted attempt to censor and de-platform Kneecap.”
