LONDON (AFP) - A rapper with provocative Irish group Kneecap appeared in court Wednesday charged with a terror offence for allegedly supporting Hezbollah, as hundreds of cheering fans gathered outside.

Liam O'Hanna, 27, known by his stage name Mo Chara, was charged in May after being accused of displaying a Hezbollah flag during a London concert in November.

He appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf around his neck, and black sunglasses.

Shouts of "Free Palestine" and "Kneecap" rang out from the crowd outside, as well as from people inside the court building.

The Iran-backed Lebanese force Hezbollah and the Palestinian militant group Hamas are banned in the U.K., and it is an offense to show support for them.

Kneecap, which recently grabbed headlines for statements denouncing the war in Gaza and against Israel, has denied the charge.

"We deny this 'offence' and will vehemently defend ourselves. This is political policing. This is a carnival of distraction," the Belfast band wrote on X last month.

The court released O'Hanna on unconditional bail on Wednesday and set the next hearing for August 20. He spoke only to confirm his name and address.

Prosecutor Michael Bisgrove said the case was "not about Mr. O'Hanna's support for the people of Palestine or his criticism of Israel."

"He is well within his rights to voice his opinions and his solidarity," Bisgrove said.

Instead, the prosecutor said, the case was about O'Hanna wearing and displaying "the flag of Hezbollah, a proscribed terrorist organization, while allegedly saying 'Up Hamas, up Hezbollah.'"

The raucous punk-rap group has said the video that led to the charge was taken out of context.

O'Hanna told London's Wide Awake Festival in May the charge was an attempt to "silence us" after several of their performances were cancelled.

A performance in Scotland was pulled over safety concerns, various shows in Germany were axed, and U.K. government ministers had suggested the organizers of the upcoming Glastonbury festival should reconsider the band's appearance.

The singer's defense team argued that the charge fell outside a six-month time limit, as the concert was performed on Nov. 21, and he was charged on May 21.

Unfazed

Daring provocateurs to their fans, dangerous extremists to their detractors, the group's members rap in the Irish language as well as English.

Formed in 2017, the group is no stranger to controversy. Their lyrics are filled with references to drugs, they have repeatedly clashed with the U.K.'s previous Conservative government and have vocally opposed British rule in Northern Ireland.

Last year, the group was catapulted to international fame by a semi-fictional film based on them that scooped multiple awards including at the Sundance festival.

O'Hanna, Liam Og O Hannaidh in Gaelic, was charged last month after London's Metropolitan Police investigated a video from the festival in Kentish Town, north London, in November 2024.

One of the supporters outside the court on Wednesday, Sadia Kokni, denounced the charge as "ridiculous."

"Kneecap actually represent every one of us. They speak for us, you know, because everything they feel, every injustice that they feel, we feel," the 44-year-old told AFP.

"We came to defend the right to protest and freedom of speech," said banker, Caitlin McClure, 24. "I'm a fan of Kneecap, their music means something to me. I'm Scottish and we are not independent either."

The group apologized this year after a 2023 video emerged appearing to show one singer calling for the death of British Conservative lawmakers.

Rich Peppiatt, who directed the award-winning semi-autobiographical film about Kneecap, told AFP this week that the group was "unfazed" by the legal charge and controversies.

"Even through all the controversy at the moment, they just shrug their shoulders and get on with it," Peppiatt said.

"They've always been controversial at a local level, and they've always bounced back from it," he added.

Prominent British musicians and groups including Paul Weller, Massive Attack, Brian Eno, Pulp and Primal Scream have defended the group and denounced a "concerted attempt to censor and de-platform Kneecap."

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By AKSHATA KAPOOR Agence France-Presse

Source: Courthouse News Service