The brother of the Manchester bomber, who murdered twenty-two people at an Ariana Grande concert, was found guilty of murder.
On May 22nd, 2017, during an concert in Manchester, leaving twenty-two civilians killed and 139 injured in the explosion. Police later named Salman Abedi as the bomber, citing the mass-killing as a terrorist action; the 22-year old Abedi was also killed in the explosion. During a raid on his home in Fallowfield, authorities arrested the bomber’s 23-year-old brother Hashem Abedi under suspicion of involvement. Though he initially denied any ties to the horrible act, he was ultimately charged with murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to cause an explosion after further investigation.
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With his trial having started in February of 2020, a verdict has been only now reached after a seven-week process. The BBC confirms that Hashem was found guilty on all charges, including twenty-two counts of murder. The evidence presented indicated that he had indeed aided in the research behind bomb construction prior to departing for his native Libya, with prosecutors arguing that his involvement earned him shared responsibility with his brother.
The original report declares that prosecutors claimed the brothers had a “shared goal [to] kill, maim and injure as many people as possible,” reasoning that Hashem was actually the one masterminding the plan from behind the scenes. Many family members of victims were in attendance, with emotion running high; Hashem, evidently, was not present, following a mass-firing of his entire legal team one week ago.
As of now, the extent of the sentence has yet to be revealed. Rest in peace to everyone who lost their lives, and may this development bring some semblance of closure to those in mourning.
