Bombay Durpun - Kneecap rapper wins new court victory over 'witch hunt' terror charge

Liam O'Hanna was charged in May last year with displaying a flag of the proscribed Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah at a November 2024 concert in London under the UK's 2000 Terrorism Act.

But he walked free from a London court in September after a chief magistrate, Paul Goldspring, found there had been a technical error around the timings in bringing the case against him.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) appealed the decision in January, arguing Goldspring had erred in ruling that the written charge had been filed too late.

But in its decision on Wednesday, a two-judge panel at the High Court dismissed the appeal, siding with the chief magistrate.

"The judge was right to hold that he had no jurisdiction," the pair stated in a 13-page ruling, concluding "no written charge was issued within six months" of the alleged offence.

O'Hanna, named Liam Og O hAnnaidh in Irish, was charged on May 21 -- six months to the day after the concert when he allegedly displayed the flag.

But the attorney general did not approve the charge until the following day, which O'Hanna's legal team argued meant it fell outside a six-month time limit.

O'Hanna, who performs under the name Mo Chara, welcomed the ruling.

- 'Proud of our boys' -

"Your own High Court has ruled against you," O'Hanna said at a Belfast press conference, in comments aimed directly at the UK government.

"The pathetic thing about this whole process is that you falsely try to label me a terrorist," he added, before accusing London of aiding various alleged crimes in the Middle East.

Cheered by supporters at the event, he was joined by Kneecap bandmates JJ O Dochartaigh and Naoise O Caireallain -- better known by their respective stage names DJ Provai and Moglai Bap.

"This ruling again just proves that they were right all along to fight the British in the courts and once again win," said Kevin Gamble, a 44-year-old Kneecap fan at the event.

"I'm very proud of our boys from West Belfast," added Bernie Devlin, 73, holding a Palestinian flag.

Darragh Mackin, a Belfast-based solicitor representing O'Hanna, said the attempted prosecution was "legally laughable".

"It was a witch hunt," he added.

The CPS acknowledged the High Court had "clarified how the law applies" to such cases, and said that it accepted "the judgment and will update our processes accordingly".

O'Hanna was charged after a video emerged from the London concert in which he allegedly displayed the Hezbollah flag, an offence the singer has denied.

The band, whose members sing in Irish and regularly lead crowd chants in support of Palestinians in Gaza, have had multiple international concerts cancelled over their pro-Palestinian stance and other controversies.

However, their performance in Paris in September went ahead despite objections from French Jewish groups and government officials.

The group also played England's legendary Glastonbury Festival in June and drew packed audiences in Tokyo in January.

F.Varghese--BD