
Kneecap rapper to appear in court for alleged support of terrorist group
Demonstrations in support of the rapper have been organised outside Westminster Magistrates' Court in London where he is due to appear on Wednesday, as well as in Dublin.
The Metropolitan Police has imposed conditions limiting where the demonstration outside the court can take place on Wednesday, saying they were needed to 'prevent serious disruption'.
In response the rap group described this move as a 'calculated political decision' that was 'designed to try and portray support for Kneecap as somehow troublesome' and 'asked supporters to go out of your way to be compliant with all instructions issued, irrespective of how pitiful'.
O hAnnaidh received a rockstar welcome when he appeared at the same court in June, supported by fellow bandmates Naoise O Caireallain and J J O Dochartaigh.
He was greeted by a festival-like atmosphere for his first court appearance, with dozens of fans waving flags, playing drums and one supporter setting off a smoke canister.
The court previously heard the 27-year-old defendant is 'well within his rights' to voice his opinions on the Israel-Palestine conflict, but the alleged incident at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London, was a 'wholly different thing'.
O hAnnaidh is yet to enter a plea to the charge.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mail
17 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Ice cream seller, 41, who was stabbed to death is pictured for the first time: Woman and man arrested after 'murder'
A man who was stabbed to death in the middle of the street has been named by police as 41-year-old Shazad Khan. The Metropolitan Police were called to reports of a stabbing in Monks Park, Wembley, at around 6.10pm on Tuesday. Mr Khan was treated by London Ambulance Service paramedics but, despite their best efforts, he was pronounced dead at the scene. His family are being supported by specialist officers. A 26-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder, while a 31-year-old woman was detained at the scene on suspicion of conspiracy to murder. They both remain in police custody. A blue forensics tent has been erected on the street following the stabbing on Tuesday Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams, local policing commander for north-west London, said: 'Our thoughts remain with Shazad's family and friends at this unimaginably difficult time. 'This incident will rightly cause concern across the community, but intelligence at this stage leads us to believe there is no wider threat to the public. 'Detectives are conducting a thorough and fast-paced investigation, and locals can expect to see an uptick in police presence in the area. 'Anyone with any information – particularly dashcam or doorbell footage from the time of the incident – is urged to speak to us as a matter of urgency.'


BBC News
17 minutes ago
- BBC News
Israel approves controversial E1 settlement plans in West Bank
Israel has given final approval for a controversial settlement project that would effectively cut off the occupied West Bank from East Jerusalem and divide the territory in in the E1 area has been frozen for two decades amid fierce international opposition. Critics warn it would put an end to hopes for a viable, contiguous Palestinian Wednesday, a defence ministry committee approved plans for 3,400 homes in E1. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who unveiled them last week, said the idea of a Palestinian state was "being erased".The Palestinian Authority condemned the move, saying it was illegal and would "destroy" the prospects for a two-state solution. It follows declarations by a growing number of countries of their intention to recognise a Palestinian state, which Israel has has built about 160 settlements housing 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem - land Palestinians want, along with Gaza, for a hoped-for future state - during the 1967 Middle East war. An estimated 3.3 million Palestinians live alongside settlements are considered illegal under international law - a position supported by an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice last year - although Israel disputes Israeli governments have allowed settlements to grow. However, expansion has risen sharply since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power in late 2022 at the head of a right-wing, pro-settler coalition, as well as the start of the Gaza war, triggered by Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack on Israel. The plans for 3,401 housing units in E1 - which covers about 12 sq km (4.6 sq miles) between East Jerusalem and the settlement of Maale Adumim - were approved by the Civil Administration's Higher Planning defence ministry body also approved 342 units in the new settlement of Asael, a former outpost in the southern West Bank that was built without government authorisation but was made legal under Israeli law in an ultranationalist leader and settler who oversees the Civil Administration, said: "The Palestinian state is being erased from the table, not with slogans but with actions.""Every settlement, every neighbourhood, every housing unit is another nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea."He also urged Netanyahu to "complete the move" and formally annex the West effectively annexed East Jerusalem in 1980, in a move not recognised by the vast majority of the international of the E1 project have warned that it would effectively block the establishment of a Palestinian state because it would cut off the north of the West Bank from the south, and prevent the development in the centre of a contiguous Palestinian urban area connecting Ramallah, East Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The Israeli anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now warned: "Under the cover of war, Smotrich and his messianic minority are building a settlement doomed for evacuation in any agreement. E1's sole aim is to sabotage a political solution and rush toward a binational apartheid state."The Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank not under full Israeli control, also condemned the approval of the E1 plans."This plan will isolate Jerusalem from its Palestinian surroundings, submerge it in massive settlement blocs" and fragment the West Bank "into disconnected enclaves resembling open-air prisons", the PA's foreign ministry also alleged that the approval constituted "official Israeli involvement in the crimes of settlement, annexation, genocide, and forcible displacement" – accusations that Israel has long PA's foreign ministry appealed for "genuine international action, including sanctions, to compel Israel to halt its colonial schemes (...) and respect the international consensus on resolving the Palestinian question".UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the E1 plans would, if implemented, "would divide a Palestinian state in two, mark a flagrant breach of international law and critically undermine the two-state solution"."The Israeli government must reverse this decision," he Abdullah II of Jordan also rejected the E1 plans, saying: "The two-state solution is the only way to achieve a just and comprehensive peace."A German government spokesman said settlement construction violated international law and "hinders a negotiated two-state solution and an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank".There was no immediate comment from the when asked by Israel's Army Radio on Monday about the Trump administration's stance on E1, ambassador Mike Huckabee said: "Whether or not there should be massive development in E1 is a decision for the government of Israel to make. So we would not try to evaluate the good or the bad of that.""As a general rule, it is not a violation of international law. And it is also incumbent on all of us to recognise that Israelis have a right to live in Israel."The July 2024 advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice said Israel's "continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful" and that the country was "under an obligation to bring to an end its unlawful presence... as rapidly as possible".Israel's prime minister said at the time that the court had made a "decision of lies" and insisted that "the Jewish people are not occupiers in their own land".


The Guardian
17 minutes ago
- The Guardian
US sanctions international court officials in ‘flagrant' move against independent judiciary
The Trump administration has ramped up its efforts to hobble the international criminal court in what the ICC has denounced as a 'flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution'. The US state department on Wednesday announced new sanctions on four ICC officials, including two judges and two prosecutors, saying they had been instrumental in efforts to prosecute Americans and Israelis. As a result of the sanctions, any assets that the targets hold in US jurisdictions are frozen. The sanctions were immediately denounced by both the ICC and the United Nations, while Israel welcomed the move announced by the secretary of state Marco Rubio. It is just the latest in a series of steps the Trump administration has taken against the Hague-based court, the world's first international war crimes tribunal. The US, which is not a member of the court, has already imposed penalties on the ICC's former chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, who stepped aside in May pending an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct, and four other tribunal judges. The new penalties target ICC judges Kimberly Prost of Canada and Nicolas Guillou of France and prosecutors Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji and Mame Mandiaye Niang of Senegal. 'These individuals are foreign persons who directly engaged in efforts by the international criminal court to investigate, arrest, detain or prosecute nationals of the United States or Israel, without the consent of either nation,' Rubio said. He added that the administration would continue 'to take whatever actions we deem necessary to protect our troops, our sovereignty and our allies from the ICC's illegitimate and baseless actions'. In a separate statement, the state department said Prost was sanctioned for a ruling to authorize an ICC investigation into personnel in Afghanistan, which was later dropped. Guillou was sanctioned for ruling to authorize the ICC's issuance of arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel's former minister of defense, Yoav Gallant, related to Israel's war in Gaza. France – whose president, Emmanuel Macron, was in Washington two days earlier – expressed 'dismay' over the action. The sanctions are 'in contradiction to the principle of an independent judiciary', a foreign ministry spokesperson said in Paris. Khan and Niang were penalized for continuing Karim Khan's investigation into Israel's actions in Gaza, including upholding the ICC's arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, according to the statement. In response, the ICC issued a statement calling the sanctions 'a flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution' and 'an affront against the Court's states parties, the rules-based international order and, above all, millions of innocent victims across the world'. UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the ICC had the full support of the world body to carry out its work. The UN was 'very concerned' about the US continuing to target the international court, he said. 'We firmly believe that the ICC is a key pillar of international criminal justice, and we respect their work,' Dujarric said. 'The decision imposes severe impediments on the functioning of the office of the prosecutor in respect for all the situations that are currently before the court.' Sign up to Headlines US Get the most important US headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion Netanyahu welcomed the US move. 'This is a firm measure against the mendacious smear campaign against the State of Israel and the IDF, and for truth and justice,' he said in a statement, using an acronym for the Israeli military. Wednesday's move carries on a history of Trump administration actions against the ICC dating back to his first term in office. During Trump's first term, the US hit the ICC with sanctions, but those were rescinded by Joe Biden's administration in early 2021. Danya Chaikel, the International Federation for Human Rights's representative to the ICC, said the escalation in US sanctions amounted to 'a continued attack on the rule of law and a blatant attempt to intimidate those pursuing accountability for atrocity crimes'. She said the new sanctions were a 'defining test' for the ICC's 125 member states. 'Will they defend the court's independence and the rights of victims of international crimes, or allow intimidation by powerful states to dictate who deserves justice?' she added.