The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Jihadi expected to die in jail for role in bombing
Manchester Arena bomber’s brother to spend at least 55 years in prison
Homegrown jihadi Hashem Abedi is expected to die in jail after being handed a record-length sentence for the Manchester Arena bomb plot which killed 22 people and injured hundreds of others.
Judge Mr Justice Jeremy Baker ordered that Abedi serve 24 life sentences and said he would spend at least 55 years in prison before he could even be considered for parole.
Family members gasped as the sentence – a record for a determinate prison term – was handed down for Abedi’s role in the largest murder case in English legal history.
Abedi born and raised in Manchester, was accused of showing “contempt” to the families of those he and his suicide bomber brother Salman Abedi killed more than three years earlier by not coming into the dock.
He was again absent as the sentence was handed down, the judge ordering a copy of his remarks to be sent to the cells.
The judge said: “The defendant and his brother were equally culpable for the deaths and injuries caused.
“The stark reality is that these were atrocious crimes, large in their scale, deadly in their intent, and appalling in their consequences.
“The despair and desolation of the bereaved families has been palpable.”
The sentence eclipsed that of racist homophobe David Copeland, who was handed a 50-year term for a 13-day nail bombing campaign in London in 1999 which killed three people and injured scores of others.
The judge, who put on record his tribute to “the tremendous dignity and courage” of the families who attended court, said the 1,024 days Abedi spent remanded in custody will count towards the overall sentence, adding he was unable to hand him a whole-life term due to his age.
He added: “He may never be released.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the bombing “a horrifying and cowardly act of violence which targeted children and families,” and praised the “courage and dignity” of those affected.
Abedi, now 23, of Fallowfield in south Manchester, was found guilty by a jury in March of 22 counts of murder, attempted murder and plotting to cause an explosion likely to endanger life.
The trial heard it was Abedi’s older brother, 22-year-old Salman, who detonated the suicide bomb in the foyer of Manchester Arena at 10.31pm on May 22 2017, as thousands of men, women and children left a concert by pop star Ariana Grande.
Together, the Abedis spent months ordering, stockpiling and transporting the deadly materials required for their murderous act, using multiple mobile phones, addresses and runaround vehicles to craft their bomb.