Hashem Abedi, the brother of Manchester suicide-bomber Salman Abedi, faces life in prison after being convicted of plotting the “cruel and cowardly” attack that murdered 22 people and injured hundreds more at Manchester Arena in May 2017.
Members of the victims’ families cried and embraced each other as the jury foreman took four minutes to proclaim the defendant guilty to 22 counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, and one count of conspiring with his brother to cause explosions.
The victims’ families expressed their overwhelming sense of justice after seeing Abedi convicted.
The Manchester-born 22-year-old was once again absent from court as the unanimous verdicts were passed. He previously sacked his legal team and withdrew from the case in an attempt to evade responsibility for the carnage of May 22, 2017.
The father of 29-year-old Martyn Hett, who was among those murdered in the explosion that struck fans as they left an Ariana Grande pop concert in May 2017, said:
“This verdict will not bring back the 22 victims murdered by Salman and Hashem Abedi. [The verdict] will not restore normality to the 22 families whose lives have been totally shattered by this murderous attack [nor will it] heal the wounds of the 264 people physically injured in the attack, many of whom with life-changing injuries.”