A UK court on Friday threw out a charge of supporting terrorism brought against a Northern Irish singer from the punk rap group Kneecap which had provoked an outcry among its fans.
Cheers erupted from supporters inside and outside the London court when the judge found there had been a technical error in the case against Liam O’Hanna and told him he was “free to go”.
Speaking outside Woolwich Crown Court, in southeast London, O’Hanna said the decision showed attempts to muzzle the band’s very vocal support for the Palestinians had failed.
“It was always about Gaza, about what happens if you dare to speak up,” he told dozens of jubilant supporters massed in front of the court.
“Your attempts to silence us have failed because we’re right and you’re wrong.”
O’Hanna, 27, was charged in May when a video emerged from a November concert in London, in which he was alleged to have displayed a flag of the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
He had denied the offence, filed under UK anti-terror laws, and his lawyers had challenged whether the charge was lodged within legal time limits.
In a 13-page written ruling, chief magistrate Paul Goldspring sided with O’Hanna, deciding: “These proceedings were not instituted in the correct form.”
“Consequently, the charge is unlawful and null. This court has no jurisdiction to try the charge,” Goldspring said, reading from his decision, to cheers from the public gallery.
Belfast-based lawyer Darragh Mackin, representing the Kneecap member, said the case was “always a political persecution masquerading as a prosecution”.
“This is not just a victory for kneecap, it’s a victory for the freedom of expression,” he told the crowds outside.
– Single charge –
O’Hanna, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, and his two bandmates had arrived earlier wearing balaclavas in the colours of the Irish flag.
Known as Liam Og O Hannaidh in Irish, he sat in the dock with a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf around his neck and opted to speak in, and have proceedings translated into, the Irish language.
He had faced a single charge of having “displayed an article, namely a flag, in such a way or in such circumstances as to arouse reasonable suspicion that he is a supporter of a proscribed organisation”.
Since the UK banned Hezbollah as a “terrorist” organisation in 2019, it has been an offence to show support for it and is punishable by up to 14 years in jail.
O’Hanna has said in earlier interviews he did not know what the Hezbollah flag was and that he was part of a sometimes satirical musical act not to be taken at face value.
Kneecap has also said the video that led to the charge was taken out of context and insisted “they do not, and have never, supported Hamas or Hezbollah”.
The group has grabbed headlines for statements denouncing Israel’s war in Gaza.
It has seen its notoriety increase since the start of the legal proceedings, having been banned in Canada and Hungary, with some of their concerts cancelled in Germany and Austria.
Kneecap cancelled all 15 dates of a planned US tour next month because they fell too close to the court case.
The group has said the media attention and gig cancellations have helped raise their profile.
“There’s no doubt there’s more people coming to the gigs, which leads to obviously more profit,” O Hanna told AFP on September 9.
– Legal controversies –
The UK legal case comes amid growing controversy over support for organisations that have been banned.
Hundreds have been arrested, mostly at demonstrations, since the Palestine Action group was outlawed in early July under anti-terrorism laws.
The government ban on Palestine Action came into force days after the group took responsibility for a break-in at an air force base in southern England that caused an estimated £7.0 million ($9.3 million) of damage.
The group said its actions were to protest against Britain’s military support for Israel during the Gaza war.
Daring provocateurs to their fans, dangerous extremists to their detractors, Kneecap was formed in 2017 and is no stranger to controversy.
Its lyrics are filled with references to drugs, members have repeatedly clashed with the UK government and they have vocally opposed British rule in Northern Ireland.
Last year, the group was catapulted to international fame by a semi-fictional film based on them that scooped multiple awards, including at the Sundance festival.
