British prosecutors have failed in an appeal to reinstate a "terrorism" charge against Liam O'Hanna, a member of the Irish rap group Kneecap, who was accused of waving a Hezbollah flag during a concert in London. London's High Court on Wednesday rejected the prosecutors' attempt to challenge a lower court's decision to dismiss the case in September due to a technical error, meaning the proceedings will not continue.

In a statement, the Crown Prosecution Service said the High Court had "clarified how the law applies" in such cases and that it accepted "the judgement and will update our processes accordingly." O'Hanna, also known by his stage name Mo Chara, was charged in May last year under the UK's 2000 Terrorism Act for displaying the flag at a November 2024 gig, an act that the US-aligned British regime has used to pursue legal action amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.

Kneecap's members, who rap in Gaeilge and English and have been vocal in condemning Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip, labeled the attempted prosecution a "British state witch-hunt." O'Hanna welcomed the ruling, stating at a news conference in Belfast that the case was "never about me, never about any threat to the public and never about terrorism," but rather about Palestine and the lengths to which the British government will go to cover up alleged Israeli and US war crimes.

Cheered by supporters, O'Hanna was joined by his bandmates as he criticized the UK regime, accusing it of hypocrisy and complicity in the Gaza conflict. He asserted that British ministers are "arming and assisting a genocide in Gaza," highlighting the societal and legal friction within the UK over its foreign policy alignments and the costs of such geopolitical stances.

Source: www.aljazeera.com