Diarmuid Hayes allegedly posted an offensive tweet about former Green Party candidate Saoirse McHugh.
The post, which appeared in the early hours of September 28, 2020, read: “Sapirse mchugh photo skinny dipping.”
It led some people to believe that the person operating the account was searching for photos of the ex-Green politician.
The post was quickly deleted and the Independent Midlands Northwest MEP immediately claimed he was hacked.
He contacted police in Belgium who launched an investigation.
His ex-assistant Hayes — who had worked with Ming between 2018 and 2019 — yesterday appeared in court accused of posting the damaging tweet.
The Irish film-maker is officially accused of two breaches of Belgian law — illegally accessing the MEP’s Twitter/X account and entering false data. Hayes was in court but has yet to enter a plea.
Speaking at the court, Flanagan said he was “relieved” that his name is being cleared.
The MEP told RTE: “I’m relieved also for Saoirse McHugh because I see the amount of abuse that she gets online.
“I’m very relieved and it’s a big weight off my shoulders.”
Ms McHugh is named as a victim in the court case along with another current assistant of Ming Flanagan’s However, neither have pressed charges.