Hashem Abedi has been found guilty of murder over the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing that killed 22 people. The jury foreman at the Old Bailey is continuing to return verdicts on the remaining counts.
Abedi has been convicted of all 22 counts of murder, one count of attempted murder encompassing the remaining injured, and one count of conspiring with his brother, suicide bomber Salman Abedi, to cause explosions.
Abedi was not present in court when the unanimous verdicts were returned.
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.”
Responding to the verdicts, Assistant Chief Constable Russ Jackson, of Greater Manchester Police, said: “Although he was in Libya at the time of the attack, Hashem Abedi is every bit as guilty as his dead brother.
“During his police interview, he professed not only his innocence but his desire to help police with their enquiries before then refusing to answer all further questions put to him. Then, at his trial, he offered no testimony in his own defence.
“In the last few weeks Abedi absented himself from court, such was the contempt he showed for the proceedings and all those so deeply affected by this cowardly act.
“We are very pleased at this verdict and we thank the jury for their deliberations.”
Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “The Manchester Arena bombing was a vile and vicious attack that targeted innocent young people and children.
“I want to thank the police and everyone involved in securing today’s conviction, which is a welcome result and provides justice for the victims and their families.
“My thoughts continue to be with everyone affected by the attack, and in particular the victims who witnessed and suffered unimaginable horrors.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here