Sun | Sep 28, 2025

Terror-related charge against rap artiste thrown out

Published:Saturday | September 27, 2025 | 12:07 AM
Mo Chara, a member of the Irish language band Kneecap, celebrates after he left Woolwich Crown Court in London, Friday, after the judge dismissed a terrorism offence relating to displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah during a performance with the band i
AP
Mo Chara, a member of the Irish language band Kneecap, celebrates after he left Woolwich Crown Court in London, Friday, after the judge dismissed a terrorism offence relating to displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah during a performance with the band in November 2024, on a technical error.

LOS ANGELES (AP):

A London court on Friday threw out a terror-related charge against a member of controversial Irish rap group, Kneecap, basing its decision on a technical error in the way the charge was brought forward.

Liam O’Hanna, who performs under the name Mo Chara, had been charged after waving a flag of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which is banned in Britain as a terrorist organisation, during a London concert last year.

Chief magistrate Paul Goldspring sitting at Woolwich Crown Court said the case should be thrown out, agreeing with O’Hanna’s lawyers that the prosecutors had missed the deadline for the charge by a day.

“These proceedings were instituted unlawfully and are null,” he said.

There were huge cheers from the public gallery as the chief magistrate handed down his decision. O’Hanna smiled and gave a thumbs-up to his supporters.

The Belfast trio, who rap in English and Irish about drugs, working-class life and the reunification of Ireland, has faced criticism for political statements seeming to glorify militant groups including Hamas and Hezbollah.

Kneecap has accused critics of trying to silence the band because of its support for the Palestinian cause. The band says it doesn’t support Hezbollah and Hamas, nor condone violence.

O’Hanna, 27, had claimed the prosecution was a politically motivated effort to silence the band’s support for Palestinians.

“We will not be silent,” the rapper told supporters outside the court. “As people from Ireland, we know oppression, colonialism, famine and genocide.”

Northern Ireland’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill welcomed the move, saying the charges were part of “a calculated attempt to silence those who stand up and speak out against the Israeli genocide in Gaza”.

The Crown Prosecution Service said it was “reviewing the decision of the court carefully”.

Kneecap has been the centre of controversy in Britain since last year, when the previous government sought to block an arts grant for the band, citing its anti-British politics. That decision was overturned after the Labour Party won last year’s parliamentary election and Prime Minister Keir Starmer took office.