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Kneecap rapper vows he ‘will not be silent’ after judges decide he will not face new terror trial
Kneecap rapper Liam Og O hAnnaidh said he “will not be silent” after High Court judges decided he will not face a new terror trial.
The Belfast musician, 28, who uses the stage name Mo Chara, was accused of displaying a flag in support of proscribed terror organisation Hezbollah at a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London, on 21 November 2024.
The case was thrown out last September over an issue with timing, as chief magistrate Paul Goldspring ruled the proceedings were “instituted unlawfully”.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) appealed that decision but two judges at the High Court on Wednesday upheld the decision and dismissed the appeal.
Judge Goldspring had agreed with O hAnnaidh’s lawyers that prosecutors needed to seek the attorney general’s permission to charge the rapper before informing him on 21 May 2025 that he would be charged with a terror offence.
This permission was sought and given on 22 May, which the court heard meant the charge fell outside the six-month time frame in which criminal charges can be brought.
Lord Justice Edis, sitting with Mr Justice Linden, said in Wednesday’s decision that: “On 22 May 2025, the Attorney General gave the DPP [director of public prosecutions] permission to consent to the prosecution, and on the same day a second written charge and requisition was issued by the police and posted to the respondent.
“This was in the same terms of the first written charge, and was issued more than six months from the time when the offence was allegedly committed.”
The judgement added: “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”.
It continued: “The respondent has not been tried for his alleged conduct on 21 September 2025 and will not be tried.
“He has not been convicted, and he has not been acquitted.”
Following the handing down of the decision, O hAnnaidh said in a statement through his lawyers: “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.
“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.
“I will not be silent. Kneecap will not be silent.”
In the 13-page decision, Lord Justice Edis said the decision “turned on a very narrow and technical legal issue and has nothing to do with whether the respondent committed the offence set out in the charge”.
In a press conference in Belfast after the decision was made, O hAnnaidh said the band no longer fear “repercussions”.
Supporters gathered at the venue cheered the band as they walked in at the start of the conference.
A banner with the Irish slogan “Saoirse don Phalaistin” – which translates to “Freedom for Palestine” – was displayed behind the band, as well as Irish and Palestinian flags.
O hAnnaidh said: “This is bigger than us – whatever kind of stress that we felt, it’s minimal compared to the stress put on the families in Gaza.
“We’ll continue to use whatever platform we have to talk about Gaza,” he said, adding the band has “lost gigs” and been “restricted” as a result of the court proceedings.
“We don’t give a f*** about the repercussions anymore,” O hAnnaidh added.
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.”