A member of the KNEECAP rap group who is confronted with a terrorist indictment is now free to perform at Glastonbury Festival, after a court has granted an unconditional bail.
Liam O’hanna, 27, known under his stage name Mo Chara, was charged in May after being accused of showing a Hezbollah flag during a London concert in November.
The Hezbollah and Palestinian militant group Hamas, supported by Iran, are forbidden in the UK, and it is a violation to show support for them.
The artist appeared on Wednesday at Westminster Magistrates’ Court of the city on Wednesday, where he was released on unconditional bail, which means that the band can perform later this month as planned at the largest music festival in the UK.
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His next hearing is set before August 20.
Shouting “Free Palestine” and “Kneecap” called outside the crowd outside, as well as of people in the Hofgebouw.
Kneecap, which recently grabbed newspaper heads for statements that denounce the war in Gaza and against Israel, has denied the indictment.
Protesters blocked the road outside of Westminster Magistrates’ Court. ((Reuters: Jaimi Joy))
“We deny this ‘attack’ and will strongly defend ourselves. This is political police work. This is a carnival of distraction,” wrote the Belfast band on X. last month.
Public Prosecutor Michael Bisgrove said that the case “was not about the support of Mr O’hanna for the population of Palestine or his criticism of Israel”.
“He is good within his rights to express his opinions and solidarity,” said Mr. Bisgrove.
Instead, the public prosecutor said, the case was about Mr O’hanna who “the flag of Hezbollah, a forbidden terrorist organization that reportedly said” on Hamas, up Hezbollah “.
The raw punk-rap group has said that the video that led to the indictment was removed from the context.
Mr. O’hanna told the Large Wakker Festival of London in May. The indictment was an attempt to “saw us up” after several of their versions had been canceled.
A performance in Scotland was tackled about security problems, various shows in Germany were broken and the British ministers of the British government had suggested that the organizers of the coming Glastonbury Festival should recapture the appearance of the band.
The singer’s defense team argued that the indictment fell outside of a six -month time limit, because the concert was performed on November 21 and he was charged on 21 May.
Defendant provocateurs for their fans, dangerous extremists of their opponents, the members of the Rap in the Irish language and English.
The group was founded in 2017 and is no stranger to controversy. Their texts are filled with references to drugs, they have repeatedly clashed with the previous conservative government of the UK and have vocally opposed to British rule in Northern Ireland.
Last year the group was catapulted to international fame by a semi-fictional film based on that that create several prizes, including at the Sundance Festival.
Mr. O’hanna, Liam Og O Hannaidh in Gaelic, was charged last month after the London’s Metropolitan Police had investigated a video from the Festival in Kentish Town, Noord -Londen, in November 2024.
This year, the group apologized after a video from 2023 was created and seemed to show a singer who called for the death of British conservative MPs.
Rich Peppiatt, who directed the award-winning semi-autobiographical film about Kneecap, told AFP this week that the group was “unclosed” due to the legal indictment and controversies.
“Even because of all the controversy at the moment, she just shrugs and go through,” said Mr. Peppiatt.
“They have always been controversial at the local level, and they are always reflected from it,” he added.
Prominent British musicians and groups, including Paul Weller, Massive Attack, Brian Eno, Pulp and Primal Scream, have defended the group and have a “coordinated attempt to censor and censor the Kneecap and de-platform”.
AFP
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