British prosecutors on Wednesday lost their bid to reinstate a terrorism charge against a member of Irish rap group Kneecap for displaying a flag of Iran-backed Lebanese terror group Hezbollah at a London gig.
Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, whose stage name is Mo Chara, was accused of having waved the flag of the banned militant group Hezbollah during a November 2024 gig.
The charge was thrown out in September after a court ruled it had originally been brought without the permission of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Attorney General, and also one day outside the six-month statutory limit.
The Crown Prosecution Service said it would challenge the ruling, and London's High Court rejected its appeal on Wednesday.
Ó hAnnaidh says prosecution is a distraction
Ó hAnnaidh was charged in May with displaying the Hezbollah flag in such a way that aroused reasonable suspicion that he supported the banned group, after footage emerged of him holding the flag on stage while saying "Up Hamas, up Hezbollah."
Kneecap has previously said the flag was thrown on stage during their performance and that they "do not, and have never, supported Hamas or Hezbollah."
The group, which raps about Irish identity and supports the republican cause of uniting Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland, has become increasingly vocal about the war in Gaza, particularly after Ó hAnnaidh was charged in May.
During their performance at June's Glastonbury Festival in England, Ó hAnnaidh accused Israel of committing war crimes, after Kneecap displayed pro-Palestinian messages during their set at the Coachella Festival in California in April.
Kneecap has since been banned in Hungary and Canada, and canceled a tour of the United States due to a clash with Ó hAnnaidh's court appearances.