Manchester bomber brother could refuse to face trial in UK
THE Manchester suicide bomber’s brother could escape British justice by refusing to face trial here, senior Libyan sources said last night.
Hashem Abedi, 21, is accused of playing a ‘key role’ in the attack, which – one year ago today – killed 22 people including seven children.
He is said to have helped brother Salman, 22, buy materials for the device he detonated at a pop concert on May 22.
For months the UK has been locked in a dispute with Libyan militia over plans to extradite him from Libya where he is being held. But now a senior source in the office of Libya’s Attorney General has said Abedi could object to the extradition and request not to be moved.
They said that if Abedi, a British citizen, has also kept his Libyan citizenship, they would have to consider such a request under Libyan law.
The source told the Mail: ‘It is important to note, if the accused has objections to being handed over to Britain and requests not to be handed over, then under Libyan law his request must be considered.’
The comments raise the prospect of Abedi blocking attempts by the British government for him to face trial in the UK.
Security minister Ben Wallace said Britain was determined ‘to do everything in our power’ to ensure those responsible were ‘brought to justice in the UK’. He added: ‘This was a callous and evil act and the victims and their families deserve and demand justice.’
Tory MP Jack Lopresti said: ‘The idea that somebody implicated in a heinous act of terror here in Britain should have the right to determine the location of his own trial is completely outrageous, and an insult to the victims, their families and loved ones.’
Tory MP Bob Seely, a member of the foreign affairs select committee, said: ‘Avoiding trial here appears to be an act to avoid facing the accusations against him.’
Former foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind said: ‘It is not very
‘Insult to victims and families’
convincing to have a trial in Libya for a crime committed in Manchester. It would be incredibly complicated and unnecessary.’
Hashem Abedi is being held at a prison in Libyan capital Tripoli. Greater Manchester Police issued a warrant for his arrest in October. They believe they have enough evidence to charge him with the murder of 22 people, the attempted murder of others who were injured and conspiracy to cause an explosion, it is claimed.
There are fears if he was prosecuted in Libya his evidence may be inadmissible in British courts – if he had been tortured, for example.
This would make it harder to bring to justice others believed to have helped Salman Abedi. Detectives know the two brothers travelled together to Libya from the UK in April last year. Hashem then stayed in Libya, their parents’ country of birth, while Salman returned to the UK to carry out the atrocity. Hashem was arrested in Libya shortly after the suicide attack at the Ariana Grande concert in May.
Asadiq al-Sour, Libya’s chief investigator in the case, said Hashem is suspected of having helped his brother and of collecting materials for the attack. Both were born in Manchester and went to school there.
Sources in Libya said the issue of extradition was still ‘under review pending verification of Hashem Abedi’s legal citizenship status’.
The source from the Office of the Attorney General said his case was still being investigated. Theresa
May, who will take part in a memorial service for the victims today, last night paid tribute to the city’s resilience and said the ‘sickening’ act had failed to ‘break our resolve’. In an article for the Manchester Evening News, the Prime Minister said the attack ‘was designed to strike at the heart of our values and our way of life… with the aim of breaking our resolve and dividing us. It failed. For such appalling acts of wickedness will do nothing but strengthen our resolve and defeat such twisted ideologies and beliefs.
‘The resilience and determination shown by Manchester in the 12 months since is a testament to that.’
Barra will today pay tribute to local girl Eilidh MacLeod, 14, the only Scot killed in the blast.
Her parents, Roddy and Marion, will join Mrs May and Prince William at the service of remembrance at Manchester Cathedral.
In Barra, the anniversary of Eilidh’s death will be marked by her friends, relatives, classmates and teachers in a special assembly at Castlebay School.
The Manchester Cathedral commemoration will be broadcast live on a big screen in the school hall.
Eilidh’s friend Laura Macintyre was seriously injured in the explosion.