Band say three-year order is ‘attempt to silence those who call out genocide against the Palestinian people’
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The Irish hip-hop band Kneecap have criticised Hungary’s far-right prime minister, Viktor Orbán, after they were banned from entering the country for three years ahead of a scheduled appearance at a music festival there.
The group, who are outspoken supporters of Palestine, were due to perform at Sziget festival on 11 August. But the Hungarian government spokesperson Zoltán Kovács said on Thursday they had been banned because their “members repeatedly engage in antisemitic hate speech supporting terrorism and terrorist groups”.
He said: “Hungary has zero tolerance for antisemitism in any form. Their planned performance posed a national security threat and, for this reason, the group has been formally banned from Hungary for three years. If they enter, expulsion will follow under international norms.”
