Manchester Arena bombing: Hashem Abedi GUILTY of murder

Hashem Abedi, pictured, offered no defence to the charges that he had helped his brother plan the attack on the Manchester Arena in May 2017, killing children, teenagers and adults

The brother of the Manchester Arena bomber is facing life in jail after a jury found him guilty of 22 counts of murder in Britain’s biggest terror trial.

Hashem Abedi was not present the Old Bailey to hear the jury deliver its verdict after sacking his legal team in the last week of the trial and deciding to take no further part in the trial.

He offered no defence to the charges that he had helped his brother plan the attack on the Manchester Arena in May 2017, killing children, teenagers and adults as they poured out of an Ariana Grande concert or waited for their loved ones, and critically injuring dozens more.

Hashem Abedi was charged with the 22 murders in a bold move by the Crown Prosecution Service even though he was in Libya at the time of the suicide attack by his older brother.

Duncan Penny QC, prosecuting, told the jury that Hashem Abedi was ‘just as responsible for this atrocity, as surely as if he had selected the target and detonated the bomb himself.’

Det Chief Supt Simon Barraclough, who led the investigation, said they had been forced to build a circumstantial case against Hashem after the brothers got rid of a series of ‘operational’ phones they were using for the plot.

It included detailed forensic work to determine Hashem’s fingerprints were on a prototype detonator, even though they could not fingerprint him.

But the investigators came to realise that the younger brother was ‘every bit, if not more, as culpable for this monstrous attack as Salman Abedi.’

Emergency services responded in force, pictured, to the attack during the Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena

Emergency services responded in force, pictured, to the attack during the Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena

The detective called it an ‘absolutely enormous criminal prosecution’ and added: ‘The individual murder charges were a statement for us.

‘It was the recognition that he was directly responsible for killing each of those 22 people in the same way Salman Abedi was. That was quite important.’

He denied claims that Hashem had made, though his lawyers, that he was in fear of his older brother.

Investigators realised the younger brother was 'every bit, if not more, as culpable for the attack Salman Abedi (pictured)

Investigators realised the younger brother was ‘every bit, if not more, as culpable for the attack Salman Abedi (pictured)

‘If you look at these two brothers, they are not kids caught in the headlights of something they don’t understand. These two men are the real deal, these are proper jihadis.

‘I believe he provided encouragement right up to the end. This is a man who has been with his brother from start to finish.’

The Abedi family were concerned that the two brothers had become radicalised while living alone in the family home in Fallowfield, South Manchester.

Their parents flew back from Libya to take them home with them, but Salman managed to return to Manchester a month later without raising flags with MI5 and put the finishing touches to his bomb in four days.

His final preparations included a reconnaissance trip to the arena where Take That were performing the first of a six dates, and shopping for thousands of metal nuts at outlets including Screwfix and B&Q.

Detectives believe that he was speaking to Hashem on the phone back in Libya, asking him for advice on how to wire up the detonator circuit.

When he got to Shudeill tram stop on his way to the arena to launch his attack, Salman sat down on a bench, and called a family phone number in Libya, talking for four minutes and 12 seconds.

Mr Barraclough said: ‘I think he is ringing his brother and at that point he’s getting that last-minute inspiration that last-minute advice and he’s telling him what he’s about to do. These two brothers are literally hand in glove in this process.’

Police and prosecutors painstakingly built up a circumstantial case against Hashem Abedi, using mobile phone data, automatic number plate recognition (ANPR), fingerprint analysis, and forensic examination of the bomb.

Families’ relief as ‘calculating’ killer brought to justice, but hearing marked by court absences

Hashem Abedi, pictured in a court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook, has been found guilty of 22 murders

Hashem Abedi, pictured in a court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook, has been found guilty of 22 murders

The families of the Manchester Arena bomb victims are relieved that ‘calculating’ killer Hashem Abedi has finally been brought to justice, lawyers say, but stark absences marked the occasion at the Old Bailey.

The defendant refused to attend court amid various complaints, including that he was allergic to tap water provided in the dock.

Furthermore, with most victims’ families opting to watch by videolink from courts in Manchester, Glasgow, Newcastle and Leeds, only a handful of people sat at the back of the courtroom itself.

Rather than courtroom drama, they witnessed the prosecution team present the painstaking police investigation with dogmatic determination. 

Loved ones sobbed as the verdict was delivered, as lawyer Victoria Higgins, of Slater and Gordon, which represented 11 of the bereaved families, said: ‘Families have waited a long time to see Hashem Abedi face justice for his crimes and I think the overwhelming emotion for most will be one of relief that he cannot hurt anyone else.

‘It has been incredibly painful for them to hear, in detail, what happened to their loved ones and the calculated way in which the Abedi brothers plotted to end their lives.’ 

The postponements have also had a knock-on effect on a planned inquiry into the atrocity which will now be heard later in the year. 

Ms Higgins added: ‘The frequent delays and disruption Abedi has orchestrated during an already lengthy trial has only added to their distress.

‘But they can now turn their attention to the inquiry and I think that, for many, is the part that will answer their questions.

‘They know what happened but the inquiry will examine the how and why and whether there is anything that could have prevented or minimised the devastation caused by this attack.’  

Hashem Abedi’s fingerprints were found on a rolled up piece of metal in the rubbish bins in the basement of a rents flat in Granby Row, central Manchester, that was said to be a prototype detonator.

Mobile phone cell site analysis and automatic number plate recognition placed him at a 12th floor council flat that the brothers had rented as an explosives laboratory.

He was also at Hulme Market in Manchester when the public WiFi was used to set up a gmail account that translated as ‘We have come to slaughter’, later used to order hydrogen peroxide.

At least 6kg of TATP could have been manufactured with the amount of hydrogen peroxide that Abedi and his brother allegedly bought on Amazon.

The bomb was packed with more than 2,500 metal nuts bought from Screwfix and B&Q, weighing 28.5kg, which caused most of the injuries, both fatal and non-fatal.

The judge, Mr Justice Jeremy Baker, said Abedi would not be sentenced until a later date so that victims’ families could plan to attend the Old Bailey, should they wish to.

He said victim impact statements would also be collected.

He said ‘steps would be taken to notify the accused in writing’, adding he would consider hearing submissions for Abedi to be legally represented.

The judge said Abedi would be handed a life sentence. He added: ‘The result of all of that is that a sentencing date is a little way off.’

Responding to the guilty verdict, Max Hill QC, the Director of Public Prosecutions, said Hashem Abedi had ‘blood on his hands’.

He said: ‘My thoughts are with the families of those who died and the hundreds of survivors. We should remember the 22 lives lost and those around the country whose lives have been changed forever.

‘I met with some of the families last year and the CPS kept them informed in the run-up to the trial. We also ensured there were live video links in court so they could follow the case from secure locations in Manchester, Newcastle, Leeds and Glasgow.

‘Each bereaved family was given the opportunity to meet one of our specialist prosecutors to discuss and explain the trial process. This was taken up by a number of the families. I hope the conviction gives them a sense that some justice has been done.

‘Hashem Abedi encouraged and helped his brother knowing that Salman Abedi planned to commit an atrocity. He has blood on his hands even if he didn’t detonate the bomb.

‘The CPS worked closely with the police and partners to build a strong case from the outset. We then took steps to successfully extradite him from Libya and placed compelling evidence before the court. I want to congratulate those in the CPS’s counter terrorism divison who have been working tirelessly for three years to secure Abedi’s conviction.’ 

Key dates in the case 

  • Summer 2015: Hashem Abedi visits Saudi Arabia.
  • 2016: Salman and Hashem Abedi’s parents leave for Libya, leaving the brothers to live alone at the family home in south Manchester and signs of “radicalisation” are noted.
  • January 18, 2017: Hashem orders a litre of sulphuric acid via Amazon using the details of a relative. He also hoards empty tins at his Elmsmore Road home to fashion into prototype components.
  • January 24: The chemical is delivered to an address other than his home on the same day Hashem bought a Toyota Aygo car for £250.
  • February 19: The brothers rent a flat in Somerton Court, Blackley, north Manchester, to stockpile the ingredients of the bomb. It was found to have Hashem’s DNA and fingerprints plus traces of explosives.
  • March 2: Hashem, via another person who cannot be identified, purchases five litres of Sulphuric Acid via an Amazon account.
  • March 15: An Amazon account belonging to an associate of the Abedi’s, Mohammed Soliman, is used to buy 10 litres of sulphuric acid, with £140 deposited in Mr Soliman’s account.
  • March 17: The Abedi brothers get the keys to a terrace house at 44, Lindum Street, Rusholme, to use as a delivery address for chemicals.
  • March 20: An email address, bedab7jeana@gmail.com is set up to order chemicals, the Arabic translation of bedab7jeana being, “To slaughter we have come.”
  • March 21: Ten litres of sulphuric acid is secured using of the details of their associate, Mr Soliman.
  • March 22: £300 is put into the bank account of Yahya Werfalli, another associate of the Abedi’s and, on the same day, 25 litres of hydrogen peroxide is ordered, paid for from the same bank account.
  • March 23: The Abedis, neither of which has a driving licence, crash a Toyota Aygo car they bought two months before, Meanwhile, Mr Soliman is stopped at Manchester Airport and his phone seized.
  • March 25: Around 2,000 screws and nails, shrapnel for a bomb prosecutors claim, are bought from a hardware store in south Manchester; Hashem’s fingerprints are later found on them.
  • March 26: An HSBC card in the name of mother Samir Abedi is used to buy £40.99 of tools; a claw hammer, junior hacksaw and blades, tin snips and pliers from B&Q in Stockport.
  • April 3: The bedab7jeana address is used to order 30 litres of hydrogen peroxide on Amazon.
  • April 6: The brothers’ parents are due back in the UK so they must “act quickly”. Thirty litres of hydrogen peroxide is delivered to Lindum Street.
  • April 13: Hashem and Salman buy a white Nissan Micra for £230 via Gumtree. It is used to store bomb-making items as the flat in Blakely and house in Lindum Street are vacated.
  • April 15: The brothers and their parents leave the UK for Libya on one-way tickets.
  • April 20: A £2,000 Student Loan Company grant is advanced to Salman Abedi in his Halifax account.
  • May 13: A £243 online booking for flight tickets is made for Salman Abedi to fly from Istanbul to Manchester via Dusseldorf, paid out of the Halifax account.
  • May 14: Salman contacts the owner of apartment 39, 61 Granby Row, Manchester city centre to rent it out on a short term let, a venue to assemble his bomb.
  • May 18: Salman arrives at Manchester Airport at 10.35am. He goes direct to south Manchester to check on the Micra. He later visits Manchester Arena for the first time and buys batteries, bulbs, tape, cable and a suitcase.
  • May 19: Salman takes a taxi to the Micra and loads the items he needs into his suitcase before returning to the flat. Later he buys a large money tin, with a removable lid, used to house the bomb. He also buys a large Karrimor rucksack from Sports Direct and orders 5,000 metal nuts from Screwfix online for £296.50p.
  • May 20: Salman visits B&Q and Screwfix to buy more than 4,000 screws and nuts and a 5 litre paint tin, also used in the explosive device.
  • 10.31pm, May 22: Salman detonates his rucksack bomb in the foyer at Manchester Arena, murdering 22 bystanders.
  • May 23: Hashem is detained by militia in Libya and allegedly subjected to torture.
  • June 1: The Nissan Micra is found in south Manchester. It contains acid, bags and boxes of nails, traces of explosives and Hashem’s fingerprints.
  • June: Brother Ismail Abedi tells consular officials in London that Hashem and his father were being tortured.
  • Date unknown: HM Government representatives and two MI5 and MI6 agents, visit Abedi in custody. He said they gave him some Heroes chocolates and there were four ‘militia men’ in the room when they asked if he was okay.
  • June 16: Hashem claims he is mistreated “most days” from his arrest to his “confession” signed with a fingerprint.
  • June 23: The defendant tells British consular officials that “worst of the torture” has ended.
  • August 23: Then Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson visits Tripoli and Libyan Prime Minister Fayyez Al-Serraj and announces a £9.2 million aid package for Libya.
  • November 1: A formal extradition request is submitted by UK authorities.
  • February 2018: At a meeting at the Home Office, the Attorney General of Libya explained the process for extradition. No Libyan national can be extradited to a foreign country.
  • June 2018: The Attorney General received a letter from the Passport Office saying Hashem had lost the right to be a Libyan citizen when he became a citizen of another country.
  • April 10 2019: The Court of Appeal in Tripoli orders Hashem’s extradition.
  • July 17: Hashem is extradited back to the UK.
  • July 30: Hashem is interviewed and provides a prepared statement denying involvement in the bombing and radicalisation saying there was an innocent explanation.
  • December 22: Abedi’s defence team request the disclosure of material relating to allegations of torture and illegal extradition, what British authorities knew and whether they were “complicit”.
  • January 24 2020: The defence is provided with some material including a statement from Philomena Creffield, head of the UK Central Authority responsible for non-EU extradition, on the extradition.
  • February 5 2020: The Old Bailey trial is opened by prosecutor Duncan Penny QC.
  • March 10 2020: Hashem declines to give evidence in his defence and the evidence is closed.
  • March 17 2020: The jury unanimously convicts Hashem of all 22 counts of murder, one count of attempted murder encompassing the remaining injured, and one count of conspiring with suicide bomber brother Salman Abedi to cause explosions.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk