Prosecutors have launched an appeal against the dismissal of terror-related charges against Kneecap rapper Mo Chara, escalating a legal battle that the Irish language hip-hop trio has branded “political policing.”
As per Rolling Stone, the Crown Prosecution Service announced its decision on Tuesday, October 7th, to challenge Judge Paul Goldspring’s ruling that threw out the case against Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh on technical grounds last month. A CPS spokesperson stated they are appealing “as we believe there is an important point of law which needs to be clarified.”
The original case centred on allegations that Ó hAnnaidh displayed a Hezbollah flag during a November 2024 Kneecap concert in London. However, police weren’t made aware of the alleged incident until April 2025, following the band’s controversial criticism of Israel and the Gaza war during their Coachella performance.
The timing proved crucial to the case’s dismissal. Ó hAnnaidh’s legal team successfully argued that prosecutors filed the charge one day after the six-month statutory limit expired. Judge Goldspring sided with the defence, declaring the charge “unlawful and null” and dismissing the CPS arguments as defying “logic.”
The prosecution had maintained that their May 21st notice to Ó hAnnaidh constituted an official charge, despite lacking the Attorney General’s permission at that time. That approval arrived on May 22nd, one day beyond the six-month deadline.
Kneecap responded to the appeal announcement with a strongly-worded Instagram statement, describing it as “unsurprising” but condemning it as “a massive waste of taxpayers money, of police time, of court time.”
The Belfast trio escalated their criticism, stating: “It is unsurprising because this whole process has not been driven by the police or the courts, it has been driven by politicians backed up by British media. This is political policing. There is no ‘important point of law.’ The CPS have submitted nothing new in their appeal.”
The band further alleged: “What there is though, is a state wide witch-hunt against Palestinian solidarity. The media were gleefully informed about this appeal before we were.”
The appeal raises questions about prosecutorial procedure and timing requirements for terror-related charges in the UK legal system. The CPS has not specified what “important point of law” they intend to highlight, though their original trial arguments focused on when a charge becomes official in relation to Attorney General approval.
The case has attracted significant attention due to Kneecap’s prominent stance on Palestinian solidarity and their criticism of British and Israeli policies. The band’s Coachella performance, which preceded the charge being filed, featured pointed commentary on the Gaza conflict that sparked considerable controversy.
