LONDON: A UK court on Friday threw out a charge of supporting terrorism brought against a Northern Irish singer from the punk rap group Kneecap which had provoked an outcry among its fans.

Cheers erupted from supporters inside and outside the London court when the judge found there had been a technical error in the case against Liam O’Hanna and told him he was “free to go.”

Speaking outside Woolwich Crown Court, in southeast London, O’Hanna said the decision showed attempts to muzzle the band’s very vocal support for the Palestinians had failed.

“It was always about Gaza, about what happens if you dare to speak up,” he told dozens of jubilant supporters massed in front of the court.

“Your attempts to silence us have failed because we’re right and you’re wrong.”

O’Hanna, 27, was charged in May when a video emerged from a November concert in London, in which he was alleged to have displayed a flag of the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

He had denied the offence, filed under UK anti-terror laws, and his lawyers had challenged whether the charge was lodged within legal time limits.In a 13-page written ruling, chief magistrate Paul Goldspring sided with O'Hanna, deciding: “These proceedings were not instituted in the correct form.”

“Consequently, the charge is unlawful and null. This court has no jurisdiction to try the charge,” Goldspring said, reading from his decision, to cheers from the public gallery.

Belfast-based lawyer Darragh Mackin, representing the Kneecap member, said the case was “always a political persecution masquerading as a prosecution.”

“This is not just a victory for kneecap, it’s a victory for the freedom of expression,” he told the crowds outside.