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

Liam O'Hanna, 27, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was charged in May after being accused of displaying a Hezbollah flag during a London concert in November.

The hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court in central London is expected to hear legal arguments on whether the charge falls outside a six-month time limit, a court official confirmed.

Since Hezbollah was banned in the UK in 2019, it has been an offence to show support for the Iran-backed Lebanese force.

Kneecap has grabbed headlines for statements denouncing the war in Gaza and against Israel.

The hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court in central London comes amid a growing controversy surrounding support for banned organisations.

More than 700 people have been arrested, mostly at demonstrations, since the Palestine Action group was also outlawed in early July under the Terrorism Act 2000.

The government ban on Palestine Action came into force days after it took responsibility for a break-in at an air force base in southern England that caused an estimated £7.0 million ($9.3 million) of damage to two aircraft.

The group said its activists were responding to Britain's indirect military support for Israel during the war in Gaza.

Supporting a proscribed group is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

- Provocative -

Hundreds of fans cheered outside the central London court in June when O'Hanna, Liam Og O hAnnaidh in Gaelic, made his first appearance in June.

Prosecutor Michael Bisgrove told the previous hearing the case was "not about Mr O'Hanna's support for the people of Palestine or his criticism of Israel".

"He is well within his rights to voice his opinions and his solidarity," Bisgrove said.

Instead, the prosecutor said, the case was about O'Hanna wearing and displaying "the flag of Hezbollah, a proscribed terrorist organisation, while allegedly saying 'Up Hamas, up Hezbollah'".

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

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

K.Okada--JT