A UK court has on Friday thrown out terrorism charges against a member of the Irish rap group Kneecap, due to the way in which the charges were brought.
Liam Og O hAnnaidh, whose stage name is Mo Chara, was initially charged over allegations that he waved the flag of Hezbollah during a concert in London in November 2024.
The Lebanese group is a proscribed organisation in the UK.
The 27-year-old was charged in May under the Terrorism Act, which says it is a criminal offence to display an article which arouses reasonable suspicion that someone supports a proscribed organisation.
After a hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Judge Paul Goldpsring ruled that Og O hAnnaidh was charged after the six-month limit to bring such a charge that can only be dealt with by the magistrates’ court.
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“The charge is unlawful and null and this court has no jurisdiction to try the charge,” the judge said, which was met by cheers from the public gallery.
In a statement, Og O hAnnaidh thanked his legal team and interpreter.
“This entire process was never about me, never about any threat to the public and never about “terrorism”, a word used by your government to discredit people you oppress,” he said. “It was always about Gaza.”
He added that Irish people know about “oppression, colonialism, famine and genocide,” and have suffered under British empire.
“If anyone on this planet is guilty of terrorism, it is the British state. Free Palestine,” he said.
‘Political policing has failed’
Daniel Lambert, Kneecap’s manager, wrote on X: “We have won!!!!!! Liam Óg is a free man. We said we would fight them and win. We did. (Twice).”
“Kneecap has NO charges OR convictions in ANY country, EVER. Political policing has failed. Kneecap is on the right side of history. Britain is not. Free Palestine,” Lambert added.
Kneecap has for months denied the charges against its band member, and accused the UK government of using it to distract from Israeli crimes in Gaza.
The group has been criticised by several British politicians.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Kneecap’s “anti-British hatred has no place in our society”.
As business secretary, she tried to block a £14,250 ($19,294) government grant to the group, but the High Court later ruled that the decision was “unlawful and procedurally unfair”.
Kneecap maintains that it has never supported Hamas or Hezbollah, nor incited violence. The group argued that video clips circulating on social media had been taken out of context.
The Irish trio performed at Glastonbury in June, during which Og O hAnnaidh wore a T-shirt emblazoned with the slogan “We Are All Palestine Action”.
At the time, the UK government was in the process of proscribing direct action group Palestine Action, after its activists broke into a UK air base and attacked two warplanes with spray paint and crowbars.
The group has since been proscribed, and thousands of people have been arrested during mass protests for condemning the ban and expressing support for Palestine Action.
“All charges have been dropped against Kneecap’s Mo Chara. I strongly welcome this decision,” Michelle O’Neill, the first minister of Northern Ireland, wrote on X on Friday.
“These charges were part of a calculated attempt to silence those who stand up and speak out against the Israeli genocide in Gaza,” she added.
“Kneecap have used their platform on stages across the world to expose this genocide, and it is the responsibility of all of us to continue speaking out and standing against injustice in Palestine.”