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GMP
Hashem Abedi was arrested in Libya the day after the bombing
The brother of Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi has been found guilty of murdering 22 people.
Hashem Abedi had denied helping to plan the “sudden and lethal” blast which killed or injured “nearly 1,000”.
The Old Bailey heard the pair worked together to source materials used in the suicide blast after an Ariana Grande show at the venue.
Prosecutors said Hashem was “jointly responsible” with his brother for the attack on 22 May 2017.
The Manchester-born siblings “stood shoulder to shoulder” in the plot, with younger sibling Hashem “just as guilty of murder” as the bomber himself, the court heard.
Hashem, 22, was also found guilty of one count of attempted murder, encompassing the remaining injured, and conspiring to cause explosions.
He was not in court for the unanimous verdicts after he dismissed his legal team last week and decided to take no further part in the trial.
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Family handouts
Top (left to right): Lisa Lees, Alison Howe, Georgina Callender, Kelly Brewster, John Atkinson, Jane Tweddle, Marcin Klis, Eilidh MacLeod – Middle (left to right): Angelika Klis, Courtney Boyle, Saffie Roussos, Olivia Campbell-Hardy, Martyn Hett, Michelle Kiss, Philip Tron, Elaine McIver – Bottom (left to right): Wendy Fawell, Chloe Rutherford, Liam Allen-Curry, Sorrell Leczkowski, Megan Hurley, Nell Jones
Some of the victims’ family members burst into tears as the verdicts were delivered after the seven-week trial.
Figen Murray, mother of victim Martyn Hett, said while the verdicts bring her “comfort to know the British justice system has played its role…it doesn’t give us closure”.
His father, Paul Hett, added that while “this verdict will not bring back the 22 victims murdered by Salman and Hashem Abedi,” he said it will provide “an overwhe