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Kneecap supporters gathered extracurricular the High Court connected Wednesday arsenic judges heard an entreaty by the Crown Prosecution Service implicit the dismissal of a coercion lawsuit against a subordinate of the rap trio.
Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs nether the signifier sanction Mo Chara, was charged successful May 2025 with the alleged show of a emblem successful enactment of the proscribed violent radical Hezbollah, astatine a gig successful London successful November 2024.
But the lawsuit against the Belfast-born rapper, 28, was dismissed successful September, connected technical grounds.
Chief magistrate Paul Goldspring told Woolwich Crown Court past that the complaint was "unlawful" and helium had nary jurisdiction to effort the lawsuit - but prosecutors appealed the decision.
Kneecap's JJ O'Dochartaigh, whose signifier sanction is DJ Provai, and manager Daniel Lambert, attended the High Court entreaty successful London connected Wednesday, greeted by supporters and protesters who gathered outside, arsenic they person done astatine erstwhile hearings.
After a afloat time successful court, proceeding grounds from some sides, Lord Justice Edis and Mr Justice Linden said they would manus down their judgement astatine a aboriginal date.
Why was the archetypal lawsuit dismissed?
After O hAnnaidh was charged, helium archetypal appeared successful tribunal successful June. At a 2nd proceeding successful August, the rapper's lawyers argued prosecutors should person sought the support of the lawyer general, the main ineligible advisor to the Crown, to complaint the rapper with a panic offence earlier informing him of the determination connected 21 May past year.
This support was alternatively fixed the pursuing day, which meant it fell extracurricular the six-month timeframe successful which transgression charges against a suspect tin beryllium brought for this benignant of offence, the tribunal was told. The gig successful question took spot connected 21 November 2024.
After proceeding the evidence, the main magistrate agreed with O hAnnaidh's lawyers and recovered proceedings were "instituted unlawfully".
The CPS past announced its appeal, with a spokesperson saying they "believe determination is an important constituent of instrumentality which needs to beryllium clarified".
At the High Court connected Wednesday, Paul Jarvis KC, for the CPS, said the lawyer general's support was successful spot earlier O hAnnaidh's archetypal tribunal quality connected 18 June, which meant the indispensable requirements were met.
In court, helium said the main magistrate "fell into mistake successful his mentation of the law" erstwhile helium threw retired the coercion case, and added: "These proceedings are and stay valid successful law."
However, Jude Bunting KC, representing O hAnnaidh, said the findings by the main magistrate successful September were "unassailably correct".
In his ain written submissions, helium said the reply was "straightforward... the indispensable support and consent were not provided astatine the clip the proceedings were 'instituted'."
The CPS entreaty is "at likelihood with the rule that the instrumentality should beryllium coherent", Mr Bunting added.
Kneecap said antecedently successful a station connected societal media that the determination was "once again... a monolithic discarded of taxpayers' money, of constabulary time, of tribunal time".
Who are Kneecap?
Kneecap enactment retired their archetypal azygous successful 2017 and roseate to wider prominence successful 2024 aft the merchandise of their debut medium and a semi-biographical film.
In 2024, the set won a favoritism lawsuit against the UK government aft Conservative person Kemi Badenoch tried to garbage them a £14,250 backing grant during her clip successful authorities arsenic concern secretary.
Before the High Court hearing, Belfast MPs addressed those showing enactment for the set outside.
"We volition proceed to basal with Liam," said John Finucane, MP for North Belfast. "We volition proceed to basal connected the close broadside of history."
"We are successful beforehand of a tribunal contiguous due to the fact that the British authorities refused to judge the determination from a erstwhile justice to propulsion this lawsuit out," said Paul Maskey, MP for Belfast West.
The judges said they had been fixed tons to deliberation astir and that a determination volition beryllium fixed astatine a aboriginal date.
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