LONDON — Kneecap rapper Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, who performs as Mo Chara, will not face a new terror trial after the High Court in London rejected a Crown Prosecution Service appeal seeking to revive a case thrown out last year.
Ó hAnnaidh was accused of displaying a flag in support of proscribed terror organization Hezbollah during a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London, on Nov. 21, 2024. The case was dismissed in September, when Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring ruled the proceedings were “instituted unlawfully.”
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Judge Goldspring found prosecutors were required to secure the Attorney General’s permission before charging the rapper, but informed him on May 21 that he would be charged with a terror offense. That permission was obtained the following day, placing the charge outside the six-month statutory time limit for bringing summary-only criminal proceedings.
In a decision issued Wednesday, Lord Justice Edis, sitting with Mr. Justice Linden, upheld the chief magistrate’s ruling. He said the judge “was right to hold that he had no jurisdiction to try any summary-only offence alleged to have been committed on that date.” Edis added: “He has not been convicted, and he has not been acquitted.”
The CPS had appealed the dismissal at a High Court hearing in January, arguing the case should proceed. After the ruling, a CPS spokesperson said: “The High Court has clarified how the law applies to the issuing of written charges in summary offences where Attorney General permission was required for the Director of Public Prosecutions to consent to a prosecution. We accept the judgment and will update our processes accordingly.”
In a statement issued through his lawyers, Ó hAnnaidh thanked his legal team and criticized the prosecution. “This entire process was never about me, never about any threat to the public and never about ‘terrorism,’ a word used by the British government to discredit people you oppress both in Ireland and across the world,” he said. “It was always about Palestine and about what happens if you dare to speak up. … I will not be silent. Kneecap will not be silent.”
His solicitor, Darragh Mackin of Phoenix Law, welcomed the judgment. “In times of political pressure and provocation, the rule of law must prevail,” he said. “The rule of law cannot be clearer — the prosecution of Mo Chara was unlawful from its very inception.” Mackin added that the case had been “a legally laughable witch-hunt” and called the appeal “an expensive circus.”
The ruling effectively closes the case against Ó hAnnaidh and underscores the procedural limits on summary prosecutions, particularly where additional consents are required before a charge is issued. While the High Court’s decision makes clear there will be no trial on the allegation, it also confirms there has been no conviction and no acquittal.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
