A terrorism charge brought against rapper Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh has been thrown out of Woolwich Crown Court because of a technical error in the way the case was brought.
The Kneecap singer – who is known under his stage name of Mo Chara – was charged on May 21st of this year after allegedly displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah who are a proscribed organisation during a concert in London in November of last year.
He had denied the charges and claimed that the case was politically motivated because of the band’s position on Palestine.
Today, Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring told the court that charge was “unlawful” and “null” because permission was not given to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to consent to the prosecution until 22 May – which was a day after Mr Ó hAnnaidh was charged.
The chief magistrate said: “I find that these proceedings were not instituted in the correct form, lacking the necessary DPP and AG (Attorney General) consent within the six-month statutory time limit” – adding that the court had “no jurisdiction to try the charge”.
The rapper’s supporters celebrated outside the court today.
In a statement, Mr Ó hAnnaidh said: “This entire process was never about me, never about any threat to the public and never about ‘terrorism,’ a word used by your government to discredit people you oppress. It was always about Gaza. About what happens if you dare to speak up.”
“As people from Ireland we know oppression, colonialism, famine and genocide. We have suffered and still suffer under ‘your empire.’ Your attempts to silence us have failed, because we are right, and you are wrong. We will not be silent. We said we would fight you in your court and we would win. We have. If anyone on this planet is guilty of terrorism, it is the British state,” he added.