The criminal case against Kneecap member Mo Chara, over allegations he displayed a flag in support of proscribed terror organisation Hezbollah at a London gig last year, has been thrown out of court because of errors made by the prosecutors bringing the charge. The judge overseeing the case said those errors made the prosecution “unlawful and null”.
Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring dismissed the case earlier today during a hearing at Woolwich Magistrates Court, a last minute alternative venue for the hearing because of a burst water main at Westminster Magistrates Court in Central London.
According to the BBC, following the dismissal the rapper told fans gathered outside the court, “this process was never about me. It was never about threats to [the] public. It was never about terrorism. It was always about Gaza, about what happens when you dare to speak up. Your attempts to silence us have failed because we’re right and you’re wrong”.
In a post on social media, the group’s manager Daniel Lambert wrote that Mo Chara “is a free man. We said we would fight them and win. We did. Kneecap has NO charges OR convictions in ANY country, EVER. Political policing has failed. Kneecap is on the right side of history. Britain is not”.
The Kneecap member was charged with a terror offence, accused of breaching a law that prohibits publicly supporting proscribed terror organisations. The band said the charge was the result of political pressure from groups who oppose their on-stage support for Palestine and criticism of Israel. Footage of the London show was unearthed by a tabloid newspaper following the group’s controversial Coachella set.
The fact Mo Chara had been charged for a terror offence was used by the group’s critics as justification for why shows should be cancelled and visas withdrawn. When the Canadian government announced last week that the band would not be allowed to play shows in the country, an official statement noted that “one member of the band is currently facing terrorism-related charges in the United Kingdom”.
The legal technicality that got the case against the rapper dismissed was first discussed during an earlier hearing in August. London’s Metropolitan Police told Mo Chara that he would face a terror charge on 21 May this year, but the UK Attorney General did not grant permission for a criminal case to be brought against the musician until the following day.
That’s important because the gig where the Kneecap member allegedly displayed the Hezbollah flag took place on 21 Nov and there is a six month window in which criminal charges should have been instigated. The Attorney General’s approval of the criminal case, therefore, came a day too late.
Prosecutors argued that the Attorney General’s approval wasn’t required to begin the legal process, it just needed to be in place before any first court hearing. But earlier today Magistrate Goldspring said that argument “defied logic”.
He then ruled, “I find that these proceedings were not instituted in the correct form, lacking the necessary 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”.
Among those to welcome the ruling was Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill, who said on X, “These charges were part of a calculated attempt to silence those who stand up and speak out against the Israeli genocide in Gaza”.
“Kneecap have used their platform on stages across the world to expose this genocide”, she went on, adding, “it is the responsibility of all of us to continue speaking out and standing against injustice in Palestine”.
