Brother of Manchester bomber aided terror attack
Full admission was given to police while in prison, atrocity inquiry told
THE younger brother of Manchester Arena suicide bomber Salman Abedi confessed he helped carry out the attack to support the so-called Islamic State terror group, a public inquiry has heard.
More details of last month’s admission by Hashem Abedi (23) from prison were given at the hearing into the atrocity which killed 22 people and injured hundreds more in May 2017.
Hashem Abedi had denied any wrongdoing as he faced trial earlier this year, before he was convicted by a jury and then sentenced in August to 24 life sentences with a minimum term in custody of 55 years.
He did not give evidence from the witness box but had told police he was “shocked” by what his brother had done and claimed he did not hold extremist views.
But on October 23, he told two members of the inquiry’s legal team in a videoed confession that he had played a full and knowing part in assisting his brother.
Paul Greaney QC, counsel to the inquiry, said: “Hashem Abedi said he was a supporter of violent jihad in the sense he supported the institution of sharia law through violence and he considered violence was justified in order to bring about change in society.
“He said he was a supporter of Islamic State and his position was exposed starkly in the following exchange: Question, what actions have you taken to support Islamic State? Answer, the Manchester attack.
“He also handed over a statement in writing that he had prepared before the interview. It sets out his motivations for having engaged in the attack and, to put it in simple terms, it represents pro-islamic State propaganda.”
Senior investigating officer Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Barraclough said if the video confession or the prepared statement were made public it was likely they would encourage someone with a similar mindset to carry out terrorist attacks.
The Abedi brothers, from Fallowfield in south Manchester, spent months ordering, stockpiling and transporting the materials for the attack, using multiple mobile phones, addresses and vehicles to make their bomb.
Hashem Abedi travelled to Libya with Salman and his parents, Ramadan and Samia, in April 2017 before Salman returned to the UK on May 18, four days before the bombing.
He was arrested in Libya shortly after and extradited to Britain last summer.
Ramadan Abedi and Samia Tabbal remain in Libya but police want to question them as suspects.
The inquiry heard Ramadan Abedi messaged his sister in Canada the day after the attack to say Salman had “blown himself up”.
Police examined the social media and networking activity of members of the Abedi family, the inquiry was told.
Yesterday the inquiry learned images of an extremist mindset were analysed when he was subject to a port stop by officials when returning from his honeymoon in September 2015.
His Facebook account was also examined at the same time and showed images of the bomber’s older brother, Ismail (27) variously holding a firearm, a rocket launcher, a machine gun and in camouflage clothing with what appeared to be an Islamic State logo in flames behind him.
He was also pictured holding a rifle with the February 17th Martyrs Brigade flags in the background, and captured sitting beside the son of Anas al-libi who was holding a pistol.
‘Hashem Abedi said that he was a supporter of violent jihad... he considered violence was justified to bring about change in society’