Latest news with #NíGhrálaigh
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Independent
Mayo barrister leads defence team for Kneecap at UK court
Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh, originally from Mayo, is part of the defence team for Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh after he was charged under the UKs Terrorism Act last month Coimisiún na Meán Today at 11:24 The trial of Mr Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, better known by his stage name Mo Chara, began at Westminster Magistrates' Court this morning. Kneecap's frontman was charged in May of this year under UK terrorism offences. This came after a video of him appeared online, where he was seen to display a Hezbollah flag during a concert at the Kentish Town Forum on the 21st of November 2024. Leading up his defence team is Mayo-born Barrister Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh. Originally from Glencalry in north Mayo, Ms Ní Ghrálaigh specialises in protest law, international law, civil liberties and human rights. She has an extensive background and is called to the Bars in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, England and Wales. She is part of Matrix, a barristers chamber in London, and also sits on the International Criminal Court's List of Counsel. Ms Ní Ghrálaigh spent her early years in the town of Glencalry before her family moved to London. A passionate advocate for human rights, this is not her first high-profile court case. She was part of the Palestinian delegation at the ICC, and spoke at the Hauge in April of this year where she stated that Israel had turned Gaza into an, 'uninhabitable wasteland, incapable of sustaining human life'. Ní Ghrálaigh's work in law began prior to her qualifying for the bar, when she worked as part of the legal team representing families of those killed in the Bloody Sunday Inquiry. She is a powerful advocate for human rights and has been described by the Legal 500 as 'a very impressive, intelligent, talented and fearless barrister', who is, 'one of the leading silks of her generation in this area' Mr Ó hAnnaidh's case has gathered a huge amount of attention. Turning up to Westminster Magistrates' court this morning, he was greeted by a crowd of cheering demonstrators waving a mix of Irish tricolour flags, Palestinian flags, and placards reading 'Defend Kneecap, Drop the Charges, Freedom for Palestine'. As the defendant made his way into court, he had to force his way through the supportive assemblage who were chanting 'Free free Palestine' and 'Free Mo Chara now'. The 27-year-old denies the terrorism charge and has branded it as an act of 'political policing'. Kneecap states that the Hezbollah flag was thrown on stage and that they do not endorse the terrorist group. This article has been funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
Scoop
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
The ICJ, Israel And The Gaza Blockade
The murder and starvation of populations in real time, subject to rolling coverage and commentary, is not usually the done thing. These are the sorts of activities kept quiet and secluded in their vicious execution. In the Gaza Strip, these actions are taking place with a confident, almost brazen assuredness. Israel has the means, the weapons and the sheer gumption to do so, and Palestinians in Gaza find themselves with few options for survival. The strategic objectives of the Jewish state, involving, for instance, the elimination of Hamas, have been shown to be nonsensically irrelevant, given that they are unattainable. Failed policies of de facto annexation and occupation are re-entering the national security argot. In yet another round of proceedings, this time initiated by a UN General Assembly resolution, the International Court of Justice is hearing from an array of nations and bodies (40 states and four international organisations) regarding Israel's complete blockade of Gaza since March 2. Also featuring prominently are Israel's efforts to attack the United Nations itself, notably UNRWA, the relief agency charged with aiding Palestinians. As counsel for the Palestinians, Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh outlined the central grievances. The restrictions on 'the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people, [Israel's] attacks on the United Nations and on UN officials, property and premises, its deliberate obstruction of the organisation's work and its attempt to destroy an entire UN subsidiary organ' lacked precedent 'in the history of the organisation'. Being not only 'antithetical to a peace-loving state', such actions were 'a fundamental repudiation by Israel of its charter obligations owed both to the organisation and to all UN members and of the international rule of law'. Israel had further closed all relevant crossings into the Strip and seemingly planned 'to annex 75 square kilometres of Rafah, one-fifth of Gaza, to [its] so-called buffer zone, permanently. This, together with Israel's continuing maritime blockade, cuts Gaza and its people off from direct aid and assistance and from the rest of the world'. The submission by Ní Ghrálaigh went on to document the plight of Palestinian children, 15,600 of whom had perished, with tens of thousands more injured, missing or traumatised. Gaza had become 'home to the largest cohort of child amputees in the world, the largest orphan crisis in modern history, and a whole generation in danger of suffering from stunting, causing irreparable physical and cognitive impairments'. South Africa, which already has an application before the Court accusing Israel of violating the UN Genocide Convention, pointed to the international prohibition against 'starvation as a method of warfare, including under siege or blockade'. Its representative Jaymion Hendricks insisted that Israel had 'deployed the full range of techniques of hunger and starvation' against 'the protected Palestinian population, which it holds under unlawful occupation.' The decision to expel UNRWA and relevant UN agencies should be reversed, and access to food, medicine and humanitarian aid resumed. In a chilling submission to the Court, Zane Dangor, director general of South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation, detected a scheme in the cruelty. 'The humanitarian aid system is facing total collapse. This collapse is by design.' Israel's response, one increasingly rabid to the obligations of humanitarian and international law, was best stated by its Foreign Minister, Gideon Sa'ar. In announcing that Israel would not participate in oral proceedings derided as a 'circus', he restated the long held position that UNRWA was 'an organisation infiltrated beyond repair by terrorism.' Courts were once again being abused 'to try and force Israel to cooperate with an organisation that is infested with Hamas terrorists, and it won't happen'. Then came an agitated flurry of accusations shamelessly evoking the message from Émile Zola's 'J'Accuse' note of 1898, penned during the convulsions of the Dreyfus Affair: 'I accuse UNRWA. I accuse the UN. I accuse the Secretary General, I accuse all those that weaponize international law and its institutions in order to deprive the most attacked country in the world, Israel, of its most basic right to defend itself.' The continuing blackening of UNRWA was also assured by Amir Weissbrod of Israel's foreign ministry, who reiterated the claims that the organisation had employed 1,400 Palestinians with militant links. Furthermore, some had taken part in Hamas' October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel. That such a small number had participated was itself striking and should have spared the organisation the savaging it received. But Israel has longed for the expulsion of an entity that is an accusing reminder of an ongoing, profane policy of oppression and dispossession. In her moving address to the Court, Ní Ghrálaigh urged the justices to direct Israel to allow aid to enter Gaza and re-engage the offices of UNRWA. Doing so might permit the re-mooring of international law, a ship increasingly put off course by the savage war in Gaza. The cold, somewhat fanatical reaction to these proceedings in The Hague by Israel's officials suggest that anchoring international obligations, notably concerning Palestinian civilians, is off the list.
