Seán Gerard Hughes is a farmer from

Dromintee Dromintee or Drumintee (, or ''Droim an Tí'' in modern Irish) is a small village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 364 people. It lies within the Newry and Mourne District Council area. I ...

, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, who has been named as a former member of the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief tha ...

(IRA) Army Council.Clarke, Liam
Hardliners go in big IRA shuffle
''The Sunday Times'', 1 May 2005 Describing him as a "hardliner" in the Republican movement,Clarke, Liam
De Chastelain extends stay to await IRA move
''The Sunday Times'', 24 July 2005 ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' reported that Hughes had served on the IRA's general headquarters staff (GHQ) as operations officer, but left in 2002 when appointed to the Army Council. Speaking under

Parliamentary privilege Parliamentary privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made in the course of their legislative duties. ...

in the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

, Member of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

for Belfast East,

Peter Robinson Peter Robinson may refer to: Entertainment * Peter Robinson (sideshow artist) (1873–1947), American actor and sideshow performer, known for his appearance in film ''Freaks'' (1932) * J. Peter Robinson (born 1945), British musician and film score ...

, named Hughes as a member of the Army Council. In 2005 ''The Sunday Times'' reported Hughes had resigned his position "after losing interest in the peacetime IRA." In 2001 Hughes was charged on counts of

false accounting False accounting is a legal term for a type of fraud, considered a statutory offence in England and Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. England and Wales This offence is created by section 17 of the Theft Act 1968 which provides: ...

and obtaining by deception.Judge Phillpot, QC. Sean Gerald Hughes Ruling - abuse of process and art, Northern Ireland Court Service Neutral Citation No.

001 001, O01, or OO1 may refer to: *1 (number), a number, a numeral *001, fictional British agent, see 00 Agent *001, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian fire brigade (until 1986) *AM-RB 001, the code-name for the Aston Martin Valkyrie ...

NICC 10, 14 February 2001 He filed an application under

human rights legislation Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, an ...

, claiming he could not receive a fair trial in Northern Ireland after his picture, identified as an IRA member, was included in a book by

Toby Harnden Toby is a popular, usually male, name in many English speaking countries. The name is from the Middle English vernacular form of Tobias. Tobias itself is the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew טוביה ''Toviah'', which translates to ''Good i ...

. The application was rejected, but the case was moved to

Belfast Crown Court Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

where Hughes was convicted of

benefit fraud Benefit fraud is a form of welfare fraud as found within the system of government benefits paid to individuals by the welfare state in the United Kingdom. Definition of benefit fraud The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) define benefit fr ...

.Cassidy, John
Border 'Surgeon' faces probe into sheep fraud
Sunday Mirror, 22 July 2001 Hughes and several associates subsequently had their assets

frozen Frozen may refer to: * the result of freezing * a paralysis response in extreme cases of fear Films * ''Frozen'' (1997 film), a film by Wang Xiaoshuai * ''Frozen'' (2005 film), a film by Juliet McKoen * ''Frozen'' (2007 film), a film by Sh ...

by the

Serious Organised Crime Agency The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) was a non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom which existed from 1 April 2006 until 7 October 2013. SOCA was a national law enforcement agency with Home Office sponsorship ...

References

Living people Irish fraudsters People from County Armagh Year of birth missing (living people) {{NorthernIreland-bio-stub