This summer, the Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap is booked for a performance at the Göteborg Festival. However, the trio is controversial and has been cancelled by several organizers as they are being investigated for terrorist crimes by British police.
In an appeal in Expressen, 201 debaters are now demanding that Music Sweden consistently must distance itself "from terror and the ideology that breeds it". The debaters also find it disturbing that a large festival like Way Out West invites Kneecap.
"Choosing to exclude artists who legitimize violence-extremism and praise terror is not censorship – it's taking responsibility", they write.
Kneecap was formed in 2017 and has often made political statements during their performances, and is accused of supporting Hamas and Hezbollah and of having incited violence against politicians.
It is two videos published online that are now being investigated by an investigation group working to remove terror-related British material from the internet. The group has established that there are grounds for further investigation of potential crimes linked to the videos, according to the London police.
At the Coachella festival in April, the message "Fuck Israel, free Palestine" was projected during the concert, which led to outraged reactions in conservative media and the concert was condemned by the British government.
However, the criticism against Kneecap has not made the trio less popular. After Coachella, the streaming of their music doubled.
Kneecap denies all allegations.
