London (AFP) - The Irish rap group Kneecap has cancelled a planned tour in the United States, citing a UK court hearing in a case one of its members is facing for allegedly supporting Hezbollah.

Band member Liam O’Hanna, 27, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was charged in May after being accused of displaying a Hezbollah flag during a London concert last year.

He attended a hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London last week, with the court adjourning the case until September 26 for a decision.

Kneecap said in a statement late Monday that they would “have to cancel all 15 US tour dates in October” due to “the proximity of our next court hearing in London to the first date of the tour”.

“But once we win our court case, which we will, we promise to embark on an even bigger tour”, the band said, adding that refunds would be available.

The statement also accused the British government of perpetrating a “witch-hunt” against them.

According to their website, the band had been scheduled to perform in New York on October 1, travelling across the country before a final show in Oakland, California on October 28.

Since Hezbollah was banned in the UK in 2019, it has been an offence to show support for the Iran-backed Lebanese force.

Kneecap has grabbed headlines for statements denouncing the war in Gaza and against Israel.

They played a closely scrutinised concert at the Glastonbury Festival in June, where Chara declared: “Israel are war criminals.”

The group later missed playing at the Sziget Festival in Budapest after being barred from entering the country by the Hungarian authorities, a close ally of Israel.

Kneecap, who also support Irish republicanism and criticise British imperialism, have sparked widespread debate in the UK and Ireland, more than two-and-a-half decades after the peace agreement that aimed to end the conflict over the status of Northern Ireland.

The group takes its name from the deliberate shooting of the limbs, known as “kneecapping”, carried out by Irish republicans as punishment attacks during the decades of unrest.

- Sea of supporters -

There has been huge support for Kneecap and O’Hanna, whose name is Liam Og O hAnnaidh in Irish, from the band’s fans since his first court appearance in June.

He arrived at court in London last week to cheers from a sea of supporters brandishing banners and chanting “Free Palestine”.

At the hearing the defence sought to have the charges thrown out on a legal technicality.

It took place against the backdrop of a growing controversy over moves by the British government to prosecute those deemed to show support for banned organisations.

More than 700 people have been arrested, mostly at demonstrations, since a group called Palestine Action was outlawed in early July under the Terrorism Act 2000.

Supporting a proscribed group is a criminal offence in the UK, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.