Longest UK jail term for arena bomb plotter
Families of the dead gasp in court at prison term a day after hearing Hashem Abedi would not get life
The Manchester Arena bomb plotter has been handed the longest sentence in British criminal history. Mr Justice Jeremy Baker ordered Hashem Abedi, brother of suicide bomber Salman Abedi, to spend a minimum of 55 years in prison for his part in the 2017 attack that killed 22 people.
SENDING the Manchester Arena bomb plotter to jail for the rest of his life would have been a “just sentence”, a Crown Court judge has said, as he handed him a 55-year minimum term.
In what was the longest sentence in British criminal history, Mr Justice Jeremy Baker ordered Hashem Abedi, brother of suicide bomber Salman Abedi, to spend more than five decades in prison for his involvement in the 2017 terror attack that killed 22 people.
He had previously said he was powerless to send Abedi to jail for life because of parliamentary law. Abedi escaped a life sentence yesterday because he was aged 20, rather than 21, at the time of the attack.
Mr Justice Baker told Abedi he had “no doubt” that had he been 21 at the time of the atrocity, a whole-life order “would have been the just sentence”.
He added: “The defendant and his brother were equally culpable for the deaths and injuries caused. The stark reality is 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 decision to target an Ariana Grande concert, a singer “renowned for having a large following of young children and teenagers”, was an aggravating factor in the final sentencing, Mr Justice Baker said.
“I am satisfied that it was their intention to specifically target this age group; an aim in which they tragically succeeded, as almost half of those killed in the explosion were either children or teenagers.”
Abedi was given 22 concurrent sentences of 55 years for each murder, alongside 40 years for attempted murder, and 35 years for conspiring to cause an explosion likely to endanger life. While the minimum term was set at 55 years, Mr Justice Baker said Abedi, 23, “may never be released”.
Families of the victims gasped in court as the sentence was announced and praised the judge for “reaffirming to us that the British justice system is strong and fair”.
Mark Rutherford, speaking on behalf of the families of his daughter Chloe Rutherford, 17, and her boyfriend Liam Curry, 19, said outside court: “We would like to thank Mr Justice Baker for imposing the biggest sentence ever in these circumstances.”
In Manchester, Paul Hett, father of victim Martyn Hett, 29, said: “We spent two days listening to harrowing details of lives that have been shattered, not just the 22, but hundreds of lives changed forever. Hashem Abedi did not even be man enough, he was a coward and did not come to court to hear how he had affected those people.
“He’s now going to spend the rest of his life in jail. I’m sure, because after the 55 years he was given, the Parole Board, which then has to make a decision, will ensure this coward never sees the light of day again.”
Mark Fairhurst, chairman of the Prison Officers’ Union, said: “I hope every day in prison tortures him.”
Jessica Maguire, from the law firm Corker Binning, said: “A sentence with a minimum term of 55 years is unheard of. This is not only a first for the British legal system but a clear indication of the gravity of the offences which have been committed and the impact this has had on a much wider society.”
Hashem Abedi has been jailed for a minimum of 55 years for his part in the atrocious Manchester Arena bombing, which murdered 22 and injured hundreds. This means he won’t face parole until he is 75 – but Abedi couldn’t receive the symbolic whole-life tariff because he was under 21 when he committed the crime. Any hint of leniency, no matter how small, is commonly pinned on the judge. In this case, however, Mr Justice Jeremy Baker rather nimbly – and accurately – pointed the finger of blame where it really belongs: at politicians.
The whole-life tariff used to be the preserve of the Home Secretary. After a European Court of Human Rights ruling, this discretion was handed over to judges – and UK legislation in 2003 put in place a series of sentencing rules that set a minimum age of 21. The home secretary at the time was David Blunkett, but even Lord Blunkett says he can’t recall the loophole being inserted and that it went against the anti-crime spirit of his administration. ”Twenty-one … doesn’t have any legal basis at all,” he told this newspaper. “You reach adulthood at 18 and ought to be treated as such.”
The contrast with America is profound: to persuade the UK to help prosecute members of the Islamist execution squad known as The Beatles, the United States has promised that it will not seek to execute them, and one can almost guarantee that they will never walk free again. If Britain is a softer touch – though 55 years is hardly a slap on the wrist – then it is important to acknowledge that so many of the rules are set by our elected representatives, and that if MPS want to make the case for tightening them, they can.