Arena bomb plotter likely to die in jail
HOMEGROWN jihadi Hashem Abedi is expected to die in jail after being handed 24 life sentences for organising the Manchester Arena bomb plot which killed 22 people and injured hundreds of others.
The 23-year-old again refused to come up from his cell at the Old Bailey to be in Courtroom Two as the judge, Mr Justice Jeremy Baker, told him he would spend at least 55 years in prison before he could even be considered for parole.
Abedi, born and raised in Manchester, was accused of showing “contempt” for the families of those he and his suicide bomber brother Salman Abedi killed more than three years earlier by not coming into the dock.
Sentencing him yesterday afternoon, the judge said: “Although Salman Abedi was directly responsible, it was clear the defendant took an integral part in the planning.”
He added: “The motivation for them was to advance the ideology of Islamism, a matter distinct to and abhorrent to the vast majority for those who follow the Islamic faith.
“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.”
Abedi, 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 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.
He added: “He may never be released.”
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.
The brothers joined their parents in Libya the month before the blast amid concerns the siblings were becoming radicalised.
However, Salman returned to the UK on May 18. He bought the final components needed for the bomb, rented a flat in the city centre in which to build it, and carried out reconnaissance on the arena before finally executing the plot – the chilling final moments of which were caught on CCTV.
A public inquiry into the bombing is scheduled to start next month.