A member of the Irish rap group Kneecap has appeared in court, where he sought to throw out a “terror” charge for allegedly supporting the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who was initially charged under the Anglicised name Liam O’Hanna, and who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, appeared at the Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday after he was charged in May for displaying a Hezbollah flag during a London concert in November.
O hAnnaidh, 27, was greeted by crowds chanting “Free Mo Chara” and waving Irish and Palestinian flags, footage showed. His fellow bandmembers Naoise O Caireallain and J J O Dochartaigh were also in court.
O hAnnaidh was swamped by photographers as he arrived, with security officers taking more than a minute to usher him into the court building.
Police imposed conditions limiting where demonstrations in support of O hAnnaidh could take place, saying they were needed to “prevent serious disruption”.
In response, the rap group described this move as a “calculated political decision” which is a “distraction from war crimes that the British state supports”. Still, they asked supporters to go out of their way to be compliant with the rules, “irrespective of how pitiful”.
Kneecap has taken a stance against Israel’s assault on Gaza, which has killed more than 62,000 people and reduced much of the enclave to rubble since it began in October 2023. Hezbollah began cross-border attacks into Israel shortly after Israel launched the assault, saying at the time that it was acting in support of Palestinians in Gaza.
Since Hezbollah was banned in the United Kingdom in 2019, it has been an offence to show support for the Iran-aligned group.
O hAnnaidh’s lawyers say the charge was brought too late and the prosecution’s case should be thrown out, as O hAnnaidh was formally charged on May 22 this year, one day after the six-month limit for such charges.
Prosecutor Michael Bisgrove, however, argued that O hAnnaidh was charged on May 21, within the time limit. Judge Paul Goldspring said he would give a decision on September 26.
O hAnnaidh left the court to cheers from supporters, telling the crowd the charge against him was “a distraction from the real story” of Israel’s actions in the Palestinian territories.
Banned organisations
The hearing comes amid growing controversy surrounding support for banned organisations in the UK.
More than 700 people have been arrested, mostly at demonstrations, since the Palestine Action group was outlawed in early July.
The ban came into force days after Palestine Action took responsibility for a break-in at an air force base in southern England that caused an estimated 7 million pounds ($9.5m) of damage to two aircraft.
The group said its activists were responding to the UK’s indirect military support for Israel during the war in Gaza.