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A member of the Irish rap trio Kneecap is charged with the accusation of supporting a terrorist organization. Liam óg ó Hannaidh, known under the artist name Mo Chara, is scheduled to appear in front of a court in London on June 18. The group clearly rejects all allegations.
Allegation: Hisbollah flag shown at concert
The 27-year-old rapper is charged to have swiveled a flag at the O2 forum in London on November 21, 2024, which is supposed to support the Lebanese organization Hisbollah. This is classified as a terrorist association in Great Britain, and it is prohibited by law.
According to “The Irish Times”, the British authorities said Mo Chara had the flag “in a way or under certain circumstances [gezeigt]the justified suspicion awake that he is a supporter of a forbidden organization ”.
The rap group commented on social media on May 22nd on the allegations as follows: “We reject this ‘allegation’ and will vigorously defend ourselves,” says a statement. “This is political police work. This is a distraction carnival. We are not the story. The genocide is.” According to Kneecap, the video in question was torn from the context. The flag had been thrown onto the stage and the authorities would abuse the anti-terrorist law to act against them.
Kneecap: rebellious rapper from West Belenc
KNECAP, consisting of Mo Chara, DJ Próvaí (JJ ó Nachartaigh) and Móglaí Bap (Naoise ó Cairalláin), come from West Belenc. The group is known for its political texts, its rebellious attitude and its commitment to the Irish language. Many of their songs are written in Irish (Gaeilge).
At the beginning of May, British authorities had already announced that the band’s online videos were examined in which the sentence “The only good Tory is a dead tory” and “Hamas high, Hisbollah high”. At the Coachella Festival, Kneecap also caused a sensation for controversial statements and they were then removed from the line-up from the Hurricane and Southside Festival.