The Japan Times - Kneecap rapper in court on terror charge over Hezbollah flag

Liam O'Hanna, 27, known by his stage name Mo Chara, was charged in May after being accused of displaying a Hezbollah flag during a London concert last November. He will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court.

The Iran-backed Lebanese force Hezbollah and the Palestinian militant group Hamas are banned in the UK and it is an offence to show support for them.

Kneecap, which has recently grabbed headlines for brazen statements denouncing the war in Gaza and against Israel, has denied the charge and called for fans to show up outside court and support the singer.

"We deny this 'offence' and will vehemently defend ourselves. This is political policing. This is a carnival of distraction," the Belfast band wrote on X last month.

The raucous punk-rap group has also said the video which led to the charge was taken out of context.

O'Hanna told the audience at South London's Wide Awake Festival in May that the charge was an attempt to "silence us" after several of their performances were cancelled.

A performance in Scotland was pulled over safety concerns, various shows in Germany were axed, and the UK government ministers had suggested Glastonbury should reconsider their appearance at the popular festival.

Daring provocateurs to their fans, dangerous extremists to their detractors, the group 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.

- 'Unfazed' -

O'Hanna, Liam Og O Hannaidh in Gaelic, was charged last month after London's Metropolitan Police investigated a video from the festival in Kentish Town, north London, in November 2024.

He is accused of displaying a flag "in such a way or in such circumstances as to arouse reasonable suspicion that he is a supporter of a proscribed organisation", police said.

Other videos circulating online appear to show a band member shouting "Up Hamas, up Hezbollah".

The group also apologised this year after a 2023 video emerged appearing to show one singer calling for the death of British Conservative MPs.

Rich Peppiatt, who directed the film about Kneecap, told AFP this week the group was "unfazed" by the legal charge and controversies.

"Even through all the controversy at the moment, they just shrug their shoulders and get on with it," Peppiatt said.

"They've always been controversial at a local level, and they've always bounced back from it," he added.

In its statement following the charge, the group said: "14,000 babies are about to die of starvation in Gaza, with food sent by the world sitting on the other side of a wall, and once again the British establishment is focused on us."

"We are not the story. Genocide is," it added.

Israel has repeatedly denied that it is committing genocide in its offensive in Gaza, which it claims aims to wipe out Hamas.

Prominent British musicians and groups including Paul Weller, Massive Attack, Brian Eno, Pulp and Primal Scream have defended the group and signed a letter denouncing a "concerted attempt to censor and de-platform Kneecap".

Campaign group "Love Music Hate Racism" called for supporters to "defend Mo Chara on 18 June outside Westminster Magistrates Court".

T.Ikeda--JT