A FORMER PARLIAMENTARY assistant to MEP Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan will be sentenced later today in relation to a message he posted from the politician’s social media account.
The post centered on former Green Party election candidate Saoirse McHugh.
On 28 September, 2020 at 2.50am, a post sent from Flanagan’s account on X, formerly Twitter, read: “Sapirse [sic] mchugh photo skinny dipping.”
Flanagan said at the time that his account was hacked via a third-party app that allowed an individual to send a message from his profile by using an old password.
He said that the person who did this logged in from Belgium.
Flanagan himself had been at home in Ireland due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Belgian police had been working with Flanagan since he made the complaint four years ago.
Last month, Diarmuid Hayes, 34, from Dublin, was convicted of the offence in a Belgian court.
Hayes left his position as assistant to Flanagan in 2019.
Flanagan told the court that the hacking of his account was a “cold, calculated and skilfully carried out attempt” to destroy him.
The Belgian public prosecutor sought a one-year prison term in the case, with sentencing to take place later at the Palais de Justice in Brussels.
In court last month, Hayes apologised for putting the post on Flanagan’s X account.
He admitted to sending the post but said it had been a joke and an “impulsive decision” taken in the middle of the night.
Speaking after last month’s court hearing, Flanagan said the incident had a “devastating impact” on his life, stating that “it is now quite clear who did this”.
“My name has been cleared,” he added, and remarked that he can now get on with his job as an MEP.
Flanagan said the matter has had a huge impact on his family, with his daughters being reluctant to leave the house sometimes over the comments they would hear about their father.
