“More blacks, more dogs, more Irish, Mo Chara” read the posters that have been plastered all over London just the day before the trial of rap trio Kneecap’s Mo Chara.
The signs are a call back to racist signs that adorned shops and boarding houses in the UK in the 1950s. The Irish language rap group Kneecap drew on the memory of racism in the British Empire ahead of Mo Chara’s court date, making its position clear: this trial is about imperialism.
Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, better known by his stage name, Mo Chara, which translates as “my friend,” appeared in court on Wednesday facing charges for his alleged support of a proscribed terrorist organization under British law.
The terrorism charges relate to a concert in north London back on November 21, 2024, when Ó hAnnaidh held a Hezbollah flag and told the crowd: “Up Hamas, up Hezbollah.”
Hundreds turned up in front of the court before the morning hearing following calls from antiwar and pro-Palestine campaigners.
The trial opened with the prosecution’s lawyer, Michael Bisgrove, claiming the terror charges have nothing to do with the Belfast rapper’s loudly spoken positions on Palestine.
“This is not about his support for the people of Palestine nor his criticism of Israel,” he said. “The allegation in this case is a wholly different thing. This is about his support of Mr O’Hanna for the proscribed organization.”
But Kneecap and the protesters at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in central London thought otherwise. Many called the terror charges a “witch hunt” against any musician who dares to call out Britain’s involvement in the continuing genocide in Gaza.
The twenty-seven-year-old musician sat in the defense table and identified himself to the judge using an anglicized version of his name, Liam O’Hanna.
He was represented by a team of high-profile lawyers. Among them was Gareth Peirce, who defended WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange against extradition…
Auteur: Christophe Domec
