Sawt Falasteen - Kneecap rapper scores new court victory as UK prosecutors lose appeal

Liam O'Hanna was charged in May last year with displaying a flag of the proscribed Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah at a November 2024 concert in London under the UK's 2000 Terrorism Act.

But he walked free from a London court in September after a chief magistrate, Paul Goldspring, found there had been a technical error around the timings in bringing the case against him.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which operates in England and Wales, appealed the decision in January, arguing Goldspring had erred in ruling that the written charge had been filed too late.

But in its decision on Wednesday, a two-judge panel at the High Court dismissed the appeal, siding with the chief magistrate.

"The judge was right to hold that he had no jurisdiction," the pair stated in a 13-page ruling, concluding "no written charge was issued within six months" of the alleged offence.

O'Hanna was charged on May 21 -- six months to the day after the concert when he allegedly displayed the flag.

But the attorney general did not approve the charge until the following day, which O'Hanna's legal team has consistently argued meant it fell outside a six-month time limit.

In a statement through his lawyers, O'Hanna said "this entire process was never about me, never about any threat to the public and never about 'terrorism'.

"It was always about Palestine and about what happens if you dare to speak up. About what happens if you can reach large groups of people and expose their hypocrisy," the 28-year-old added.

"I will not be silent. Kneecap will not be silent."

Belfast-based Kneecap has long branded the attempted prosecution a "British state witch-hunt".

O'Hanna -- Liam Og O hAnnaidh in Irish -- was charged after a video emerged from the London concert in which he allegedly displayed the Hezbollah flag, an offence the singer has denied.

The band, whose members sing in Irish and regularly lead crowd chants in support of the Palestinians in Gaza, have had multiple international concerts cancelled over their pro-Palestinian stance and other controversies.

Canada barred Kneecap last year from entering the country, citing the group's alleged support for Hezbollah and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

However, their performance in Paris in September went ahead despite objections from French Jewish groups and government officials.

The group also played England's legendary Glastonbury Festival in June and drew packed audiences in Tokyo in January.

T.Khatib--SF-PST