Kneecap rapper due in court over terror charges for Hezbollah support
Liam O'Hanna, 27, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was charged in May after being accused of displaying a Hezbollah flag during a London concert in November.
The hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court in central London is expected to hear legal arguments on whether the charge falls outside a six-month time limit, a court official confirmed.
Since Hezbollah was banned in the UK in 2019, it has been an offence to show support for the Iran-backed Lebanese force.
Kneecap has grabbed headlines for statements denouncing the war in Gaza and against Israel.
The hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court in central London comes amid a growing controversy surrounding support for banned organizations.
More than 700 people have been arrested, mostly at demonstrations, since the Palestine Action group was also outlawed in early July under the Terrorism Act 2000.
The government ban on Palestine Action came into force days after it 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 to two aircraft.
The group said its activists were responding to Britain's indirect military support for Israel during the war in Gaza.
Supporting a proscribed group is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Provocative
Hundreds of fans cheered outside the central London court in June when O'Hanna, Liam Og O hAnnaidh in Gaelic, made his first appearance in June.
Prosecutor Michael Bisgrove told the previous hearing the case was 'not about Mr O'Hanna's support for the people of Palestine or his criticism of Israel'.
'He is well within his rights to voice his opinions and his solidarity,' Bisgrove said.
Instead, the prosecutor said, the case was about O'Hanna wearing and displaying 'the flag of Hezbollah, a proscribed terrorist organization, while allegedly saying 'Up Hamas, up Hezbollah''.
The raucous punk-rap group has said the video that led to the charge was taken out of context.
Daring provocateurs to their fans, dangerous extremists to their detractors, the group's members rap in the Irish language as well as English.
Formed in 2017, the group is no stranger to controversy. Their lyrics are filled with references to drugs, they have repeatedly clashed with the UK's previous Conservative government and 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.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
3 hours ago
- Arab News
Acclaimed British musician Paul Weller sues accountants that cut ties over his pro-Palestine views
LONDON: British musician Paul Weller is suing his former accounting firm after it reportedly ended their business ties over his pro-Palestinian comments. Harris and Trotter had a professional relationship with Weller spanning more than three decades, The Independent reported on Wednesday. The acclaimed musician and former frontman of The Jam filed a discrimination claim over the accounting firm's decision. It followed public statements by Weller that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. He was told in March that Harris and Trotter would no longer work with him or his companies, his lawyers said in a pre-action letter. A partner at the firm sent a WhatsApp message to Weller saying: 'It's well known what your political views are in relation to Israel, the Palestinians and Gaza, but we as a firm are offended at the assertions that Israel is committing any type of genocide. 'Everyone is entitled to their own views, but you are alleging such anti-Israel views that we as a firm with Jewish roots and many Jewish partners are not prepared to work with someone who holds these views.' In ending its relationship with Weller, the firm illegally discriminated against his protected philosophical beliefs, his lawyers said. Weller has publicly supported moves to recognize Palestine as a state. 'I've always spoken out against injustice, whether it's apartheid, ethnic cleansing or genocide. What's happening to the Palestinian people in Gaza is a humanitarian catastrophe,' he said. 'I believe they have the right to self-determination, dignity and protection under international law, and I believe Israel is committing genocide against them. 'That must be called out. Silencing those who speak this truth is not just censorship — it's complicity.' According to his lawyers, Weller will donate any received financial damages toward humanitarian campaigns in Gaza. 'I'm taking legal action not just for myself, but to help ensure that others are not similarly punished for expressing their beliefs about the rights of the Palestinian people,' he said. The firm Hodge Jones and Allen is representing Weller. One of its lawyers, Cormac McDonough, said the case 'reflects a wider pattern of attempts to silence artists and public figures who speak out in support of Palestinian rights. 'Within the music industry especially, we are seeing increasing efforts to marginalise those who express solidarity with the people of Gaza.'
Arab News
4 hours ago
- Arab News
Member of rap trio Kneecap out on bail on terror charge, calls lawsuit ‘distraction'
LONDON: Hundreds of fans turned out to support a member of Irish rap group Kneecap on Wednesday at a London court as he sought to throw out a terrorism charge for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah. For the latest updates, follow us on Instagram @ Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who was initially charged under the Anglicised name Liam O'Hanna and whose stage name is Mo Chara, is alleged to have waved the yellow flag of Hezbollah during a Kneecap gig in London on Nov. 21, 2024. A post shared by KNEECAP (@kneecap32) O hAnnaidh is accused of holding up the flag on stage while saying 'Up Hamas, up Hezbollah.' Kneecap have said the flag was thrown on stage during their performance. The 27-year-old was charged in May under the Terrorism Act, which makes it a criminal offence to display an article in a way which arouses reasonable suspicion that someone is a supporter of a proscribed organisation. O hAnnaidh appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday wearing the keffiyeh scarf associated with the Palestinian cause and had to fight his way through a scrum of photographers to get inside the building. He sat alongside an Irish language interpreter during the hearing and his bandmates Naoise O Caireallain, stage name Moglai Bap, and J.J. O Dochartaigh, who goes by DJ Provao, were also in court, with supporters filling the public gallery. RULING NEXT MONTH Irish music was played outside the court throughout the hearing, with many supporters waving Irish and Palestinian flags while others held placards reading 'Free Mo Chara.' O hAnnaidh's lawyers say the charge was brought too late and the prosecution case should be thrown out, as O hAnnaidh was formally charged on May 22 this year, one day after the six-month limit for such charges. Prosecutor Michael Bisgrove, however, argued that O hAnnaidh was charged on May 21, within the time limit. Judge Paul Goldspring said he would give a decision on Sept. 26. O hAnnaidh left the court to cheers from supporters, telling the crowd the charge against him was 'a distraction from the real story' of Israel's actions in the Palestinian territories. Belfast-based Kneecap, who rap in Irish and English and regularly display pro-Palestinian messages during their gigs, previously said the charge was an attempt to silence them. The group — who rap about Irish identity and support the republican cause of uniting Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland — have been increasingly vocal about the war in Gaza since O hAnnaidh was charged.
Arab News
6 hours ago
- Arab News
UK set for more legal challenges over migrant hotels
EPPING: Britain's government was considering Wednesday whether to appeal a court ruling blocking the housing of asylum seekers in a flashpoint hotel, as it scrambled to come up with contingency plans for the migrants. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour administration braced itself for further legal challenges from local authorities following Tuesday's judge-issued junction that has dealt it a major political and logistical headache. Anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage indicated that councils run by his hard-right Reform UK party, leading in national polls, would pursue similar claims as he called for protests outside migrant hotels. Security minister Dan Jarvis said the government was weighing challenging high court judge Stephen Eyre's granting of a temporary injunction to stop migrants from staying at the Bell Hotel in Epping, northeast of London. The local authority sought the ruling following several weeks of protests outside the hotel, some of which have turned violent. The demonstrations erupted after a resident was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. 'We're looking very closely at it,' Jarvis told Sky News of a possible appeal. The interior ministry had tried to have the case dismissed, warning it would 'substantially impact' its ability to provide accommodation for tens of thousands of asylum seekers across Britain. 'We're looking at a range of different contingency options,' Jarvis told Times Radio, adding: 'We'll look closely at what we're able to do.' Several Reform-led councils, including in Staffordshire and Northamptonshire in the Midlands area of England, announced on Wednesday that they were exploring their options following the court ruling. Protests, some of them violent, broke out in Epping in mid-July after Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 41, was charged. He denies the allegation and is due to stand trial later this year. Hundreds of people have since taken part in demonstrations and counter-demonstrations outside the Bell Hotel. Further anti-immigration demonstrations also spread to London and around England. Several men appeared in court on Monday charged with violent disorder over the Bell Hotel protests. Epping Forest District Council argued the hotel had become a risk to public safety and that it had breached planning laws as it was no longer operating as a hotel in the traditional sense. The judge gave authorities until September 12 to remove the migrants. Writing in the right-wing Daily Telegraph newspaper, Farage said the 'good people of Epping must inspire similar protests around Britain.' He said peaceful demonstrations can 'put pressure on local councils to go to court to try and get the illegal immigrants out.' In Epping, an attractive market town connected to London by the underground, residents appeared to broadly welcome the imminent removal of the asylum seekers. 'It has made people feel unsettled, especially with schools being down there,' 52-year-old Mark Humphries, who works in retail, told AFP on the high street. Carol Jones, 64, said she was relieved at the decision but wondered whether it would ever be implemented. 'They shouldn't have been there in the first place, but where are they going to go?' the retiree told AFP. Labour has pledged to end the use of hotels for asylum seekers before the next election, likely in 2029, in a bid to save billions of pounds. The latest government data showed there were 32,345 asylum seekers being housed temporarily in UK hotels at the end of March, down 15 percent from the end of December. Numbers hit a peak at the end of September 2023 when there were 56,042 asylum seekers in hotels, and the center-right Conservatives were in power. Starmer is facing huge political pressure domestically for failing to stop irregular migrants crossing the Channel to England on small boats. More than 50,000 people have made the dangerous crossing from northern France since Starmer became UK leader last July. Under a 1999 law, the interior ministry 'is required to provide accommodation and subsistence support to all destitute asylum seekers whilst their asylum claims are being decided.' Enver Solomon, chief executive of Refugee Council, urged the government to 'partner with local councils to provide safe, cost-effective accommodation within communities' rather than use hotels. 'Ultimately, the only way to end hotel use for good is to resolve asylum applications quickly and accurately so people can either rebuild their lives here or return home with dignity,' he said Tuesday.
