LONDON:
A rapper with the provocative Irish Kneecap team appeared in court on Wednesday was charged with a terrorist offense for Hzbollah’s alleged support, as hundreds of fans gathering outside.
Liam O’Hanna, 27, known by the name of the Mo Chara scene, was accused in May after being accused of presented a Hezbollah flag during a London concert in November.
He appeared in the court of the Westminster Courts on Wednesday wearing a Palestinian Kefffiyeh scarf around his neck and black sunglasses.
The screams of “Free Palestine” and “Kneecap” hit the crowd outside, as well as people inside the court building.
The Lebanese force supported by Iran Hezbollah and the Palestinian Hamas fighter team are banned in the United Kingdom and it is an offense to show support for them.
Kneecap, which recently seized headlines for statements that denounce the war in Gaza and against Israel, denied the accusation.
“We deny this ‘offense’ and we will strongly defend ourselves.
The court released O’Hanna for unconditional guarantee on Wednesday and set the next hearing on August 20. Talked only to confirm his name and address.
Prosecutor Michael Bisgrove said the case was “not for Mr O’Hanna’s support for the Palestinian people or his criticism of Israel”.
“It is well within his rights to express his views and his solidarity,” Bisgrove said.
Instead, the prosecutor said, the case concerned O’Hanna to wear and display “the flag of Hezbollah, a forbidden terrorist organization, and allegedly saying” on Hamas, up to Hezbollah “.
The Punk-Rap group group said the video that led to charging was removed from the frame.
O’Hanna told the London Festival in May that the accusation was an attempt to “silence us” after several of their performances were canceled.
A performance in Scotland was drawn to security concerns, various broadcasts in Germany were axes and the UK government ministers had suggested that the organizers of the upcoming Glastonbury festival would have to review the band’s appearance.
The singer’s defense team argued that the charge fell out of a six -month period, as the concert took place on November 21 and was charged on May 21.
Inaccessible
The bold provocative to their followers, the dangerous extremists in their critics, the members of the Irish RAP team and the English.
Created in 2017, the team is not foreign to the dispute. Their lyrics are full of drug reports, have repeatedly clashed with the previous conservative government of the United Kingdom and have opposed vocal British rule in Northern Ireland.
Last year, the team was rejected by an international reputation by a semi-fantastic film based on those who threw multiple awards, including the Sundance Festival.
O’Hanna, Liam Og Og, Hannaidh in Gaelic, was charged last month after the London Metropolitan Police, investigated a video from the Festival in Kentish, North London in November 2024.
One of the supporters outside the court on Wednesday, Sadia Kokni denounces the accusation as “ridiculous”.
“Kneecap actually represents all of us. They talk about us. You know, because everything they feel, every injustice they feel, we feel,” said 44 -year -old AFP.
“We came to defend the right to protest and freedom of speech,” Banker, Caitlin McClure, 24 said.
“I am a fan of Kneecap. Their music means something to me. I am Scottish and we are not independent.”
The team apologized this year after a 2023 video showing a singer seeking the death of British conservative MPs.
Rich Peppiatt, who directed the award -winning semi -biography for Kneecap, told AFP this week that the team was “intact” by legal category and disputes.
“Even through all the controversy right now, they are simply lifting their shoulders and continue with it,” Peppiatt said.
“They have always been disputed locally and have always been bounced behind it,” he added. AFP
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