Irish-language rap group Kneecap have named high-profile legal representation to aid the defence against a terrorism charge levied at one of their members.
Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, who performs under the name Mo Chara, was charged under the UK’s Terrorism Act last month for allegedly waving a flag that expressed support for Hizbullah. The British government classified Hizbullah a terrorist organisation in 2019, and expressing support for them is illegal.
Mr Ó hAnnaidh denies this charge and called it “political policing” which is a “carnival of distraction” from Israel committing genocide in Gaza.
He is due to appear in Westminster Magistrates’ Court next Wednesday.
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Kneecap on Friday published details of the legal team, whose past work has focused on freedom of expression, international human rights law, and high-profile cases against the British state.
Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh KC represented South Africa last year at the International Court of Justice in its case alleging genocide by Israel in Gaza.
Ms Ní Ghrálaigh, a Mayo-born barrister, specialises in protest law. In 2022, she represented a member of the “Colston Four”, who were cleared of a criminal damage charge after they toppled a statue of a 17th-century British slave-owner in Bristol during the Black Lives Matter protests.
Darragh Mackin represented the families of victims of the 1981 Stardust fire at an inquest which ultimately concluded they had been “unlawfully killed”. The families received a State apology last year. Mr Mackin has also worked on reforming Northern Ireland’s abortion laws.
Gareth Peirce, whose name is synonymous with representing the wrongly convicted Birmingham Six and Guildford Four, counts WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange among her recent clients.
Barrister Rosalind Comyn practices criminal and media law, having recently acted on behalf of climate justice activists charged with vandalising Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunflowers painting.
Other legal representatives include Jude Bunting KC and Brenda Campbell KC, who are concerned with freedom of expression and terrorism and protest law, respectively.
Kneecap wrote in a statement posted on X that “the British establishment is conducting a campaign against” them.
“We are ready for this fight,” they said. “We are proud to have such a strong legal team with us.”
