Terror charge against Kneecap rapper cannot continue, court says

A terror charge against Kneecap rapper Liam Og O hAnnaidh has been thrown out by a court.

The Irish rapper, who performs under the name Mo Chara, appeared at Woolwich Crown Court on a single terror charge. Giving his ruling, chief magistrate Paul Goldspring said: "These proceedings against the defendant were instituted unlawfully and are null." The 27-year-old had been accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London, in November last year.

He had been on unconditional bail since his first court appearance in June. After delivering his ruling, the judge said: "Mr O hAnnaidh, you are free to go," which was met by cheers in the public gallery and applause.

The levity was met with a stern reprimand, with the judge adding: "You can do your celebrating outside, but the court now has other business to attend to." Both of O hAnnaidh's parents were in court to support him. O hAnnaidh: 'We're right and you're wrong' Speaking outside court, O hAnnaidh thanked his legal team and interpreter, before addressing his large crowd of supporters.

He said: "This entire process was never about me, never about any threat to the public, 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're right and you're wrong... We will not be silent.

We said we'd fight you in your court and we would win, and today we have. If anyone on this planet is guilty of terrorism, it's the British state.

Free Palestine. Tiocfaidh ar la [Irish for our day will come]." The audience responded with cheers and chants of "Free, free Palestine".

Judge says prosecution's earlier arguments 'defy logic' At the start of the hearing, O hAnnaidh stood to confirm his name, date of birth and current address, speaking in Irish with his words translated by an interpreter. The judge summarised his judgement for the court, making it clear the purpose of the hearing was not to determine O hAnnaidh's innocence or guilt, but to decide whether the court had jurisdiction to hear the case.

When O hAnnaidh was initially charged by post on 21 May, the permission of the Attorney General (AG) or the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had not been sought. After a retrospective decision to seek permission, the Metropolitan Police re-sent the postal charge to O hAnnaidh the following day - the 22 May - falling outside the six-month window in which defendants should be charged.

Criminal proceedings are instituted when a criminal charge is first issued, not when the defendant first appears in court. Concluding the reasons for his decision, the chief magistrate said: "I find that these proceedings were not instituted in the correct form, lacking the necessary DPP and AG consent within the six-month statutory time limit.

"The time limit requires consent to have been granted at the time or before the issue of the requisition. "Consequently, the charge is unlawful and null and this court has no jurisdiction to try the charge." Sweeping aside the prosecution's previous argument that permission from the DPP and AG was not required until the defendant's first court appearance, and that permission did not need to be sought in order to bring a criminal charge, the chief magistrate said such arguments "defy logic".

Read more: Why are Kneecap controversial? A spokesperson for the CPS said they were "reviewing the decision of the court carefully". Following the hearing, a Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: "We will work with the Crown Prosecution Service to understand the potential implications of this ruling for us and how that might impact on the processing of such cases in the future." The ruling could be appealed.

Kneecap's manager Daniel Lambert said the rap trio were on the "right side of history.