Kneecap unveil legal 'dream team' for UK case
Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, who performs under the name Mo Chara, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court next Wednesday for allegedly displaying a flag in support of proscribed organisation Hezbollah during a show last year.
If convicted, Mr Ó hAnnaidh could face up to six months in prison and a fine. Kneecap have unveiled the legal 'dream team' who will defend one of their members fighting a terrorism charge in UK court, including an Irish lawyer at the forefront of the case accusing of Israel of genocide in Gaza. Pic: Brian Lawless/PA Wire
It would also lead to extreme difficulties for the group's busy tour schedule as he may not be allowed to enter some countries if he receives a conviction under the UK's Terrorism Act.
The rap group announced the members of their six-person legal team yesterday evening, including law experts who have worked on some of the most high-profile court cases in recent Irish and UK history.
Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh, who specialises in human rights law, appeared in the International Court of Justice last year on behalf of South Africa, who had accused Israel of committing genocide. Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, who performs under the name Mo Chara, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court next Wednesday for allegedly displaying a flag in support of proscribed organisation Hezbollah during a show last year. Pic: Nils Jorgensen/REX/Shutterstock
The list also includes Darragh Mackin, who previously acted for the group in a case against the UK government in which they successfully challenged a decision to withhold arts funding for the group.
He also represented the families of Stardust blaze victims at the inquests.
Also on the legal team will be Gareth Peirce, solicitor and human rights activist. Ms Peirce, now 85, is a familiar name to many due to her legal challenges to the incarceration of the Birmingham Six, who were ultimately exonerated after being wrongfully convicted of the pub bombings in 1975.
Ms Peirce also represented the wrongly convicted Guildford Four.
More recently, she acted as solicitor for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange during his fight against US extradition.
Kneecap described another lawyer, Brenda Campbell, as a specialist 'regularly appearing in cases relating to terrorism and protest law'.
Kneecap will have Rosalind Comyn , who previously represented Just Stop Oil protesters who threw soup on the protective frame of Van Gogh's famous Sunflowers painting in London's National Gallery.
Rounding out the team is Jude Bunting, who the rap trio have called 'an expert in freedom of expression'.
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