Terrorism charges against the Kneecap rapper Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh have been thrown out by the chief magistrate due to a technical error.
Ó hAnnaidh had been charged with a terrorism offence for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag at a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London, last November.
But sitting at Woolwich crown court, the chief magistrate, Paul Goldspring, agreed with Ó hAnnaidh’s defence team, who had argued that there was a legal mistake in the way the charge was brought against him.
His defence team, led by Brenda Campbell KC, argued that the attorney general, Richard Hermer, had not given permission for the case to be brought against the defendant when police informed him he was to face a terrorism charge on 21 May.
Goldspring ruled that the charge against the 27-year-old Belfast musician was “unlawful” and “null”. Concluding the reasons for his decision, he said: “I find that these proceedings were not instituted in the correct form, lacking the necessary DPP [director of public prosecutions] and AG [attorney general] consent within the six-month statutory time limit set by section 127.
“The time limit requires consent to have been granted at the time or before the issue of the requisition. Consequently the charge is unlawful and null and this court has no jurisdiction to try the charge.”
Michael Bisgrove, for the prosecution, previously told a court that permission from the director of public prosecutions and attorney general was not required until the defendant’s first court appearance and that permission did not need to be sought in order to bring a criminal charge.
The chief magistrate dismissed the arguments, telling the court they “defy logic”.
The Crown Prosecution Service said it was “reviewing the decision of the court carefully”. It said the decision could be appealed.
Dozens of Ó hAnnaidh’s supporters, who had gathered outside the court, cheered as the decision was relayed to the crowd. Some waved Palestine and Irish flags. Others held aloft placards that read Free Mo Chara, referencing the rapper’s stage name.
Ó hAnnaidh, who is referred to by his anglicised name Liam O’Hanna in court documents, arrived at court wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh, a balaclava in the colours of the Irish tricolour and sunglasses.
The West Belfast MP Paul Maskey, who attended court on Friday, said the decision not to proceed with the trial was the right one. “Kneecap have bravely and unapologetically used their platform around the world to call out Israel’s genocide and the complicity of western governments,” the Sinn Féin politician said.
“It is the Israeli war criminals and those who fund, support and enable genocide and forcibly starve women and children who should be before the courts, not Kneecap’s Mo Chara. The British political assault on Kneecap which led to this case has failed.
Today, those on the right side of history have prevailed.”
Kneecap’s manager, Daniel Lambert, wrote on X: “We have won!!!!!! Liam Og is a free man. We said we would fight them and win. We did (Twice). Kneecap has NO charges OR convictions in ANY country, EVER. Political policing has failed. Kneecap is on the right side of history. Britain is not. Free Palestine.”
Northern Ireland’s first minister, Michelle O’Neill, welcomed the decision. In a post on X, she said: “All charges have been dropped against Kneecap’s Mo Chara. I strongly welcome this decision. These charges were part of a calculated attempt to silence those who stand up and speak out against the Israeli genocide in Gaza.
“Kneecap have used their platform on stages across the world to expose this genocide, and it is the responsibility of all of us to continue speaking out and standing against injustice in Palestine.”
