Hashem Abedi has been convicted of the murder of 22 people who were blown up by his suicide bomber brother, Salman, at the Manchester Arena in May 2017.
Abedi, 22, who was extradited from Libya last year, had denied 22 counts of murder, attempted murder and conspiring to cause explosions.
Hashem Abedi, the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber, has been found guilty of 22 counts of murder. He is also guilty of attempted murder and conspiracy to cause explosions. It is Britain's biggest murder case.
— Duncan Gardham (@DuncanGardham) March 17, 2020
Thousands of fans of the US pop star Arianna Grande attended the concert in Manchester in May 2017 when Salman Abedi set off the bomb in his backpack in the foyer of the arena moments after it finished.
The blast killed 17 women and girls and five men, wounded 264 and left at least 670 other people with devastating psychological scars.
Abedi, who is believed to be a supporter of Daesh*, sacked his defence barrister, Stephen Kamlish QC, last week after deciding not to give evidence.
Hashem Abedi who has not attended court for several days and told his defence lawyers not to attend will be told when his sentencing is
— Daniel Sandford (@BBCDanielS) March 17, 2020
The trial heard Abedi had helped his brother source materials for a prototype bomb and buy a car in which the materials for the arena device were stored in the weeks up to the attack. Both brothers then flew to Libya, with only Salman returning to carry out the explosion.
Police release mugshot of Hashem Abedi - who claimed his brother duped him into helping him with Manchester Arena bombing. At the end of the trial he had a hissy fit and sacked his defence team. Jury took only 4 hours to find him guilty of 22 murders #ManchesterArena pic.twitter.com/7ZIFbgeNPe
— Total Crime (@totalcrime) March 17, 2020
Prosecutor Duncan Penny QC said the brothers had engaged in "months of planning" which involved assembling metal containers, nails and screws to be used as shrapnel and chemicals to make explosives.
He told the jury: "The prosecution's case is that this defendant is just as guilty of the murder of the 22 people killed as was his brother.”
Abedi is due to be sentenced later in the week but faces a mandatory life sentence and will almost certainly be given a whole life tariff, meaning he will never be released.
Mr Penny said: "The bomb which was detonated was self-evidently designed to kill and maim as many people as possible,'' he added. "It was packed with lethal shrapnel and it was detonated in the middle of a crowd in a very public area - the intention being to kill and to inflict maximum damage."
The Director of Public Prosecutions, Max Hill QC, said on Tuesday, 17 March: "Hashem Abedi encouraged and helped his brother knowing that Salman Abedi planned to commit an atrocity. He has blood on his hands even if he didn’t detonate the bomb."
"My thoughts are with the families of those who died and the hundreds of survivors. We should remember the 22 lives lost and those around the country whose lives have been changed forever....I hope the conviction gives them a sense that some justice has been done," Mr Hill added.
The brothers who callously took 22 innocents from us & harmed 100s more at Ariane Grande’s concert wanted to sow their hate but only brought Manchester together
— nazir afzal (@nazirafzal) March 17, 2020
Their misogyny also played its part
Justice doesn’t take away the pain, but is always welcome https://t.co/7Bji2CaCHT
The trial was broadcast live from the Old Bailey to three locations in England and one in Scotland, so that relatives of the victims could witness justice being done.
*Daesh (ISIS/ISIL) is an international terrorist group which is banned in Russia.
