Manchester bomber's brother jailed for at least 55 years
August 20, 2020
A man who helped his brother carry out a suicide attack at an Ariana Grande concert more than three years ago has been jailed. Hashem Abedi was found guilty of murder for encouraging and assisting Salman Abedi.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Special Deterrent Force
Hashem Abedi had denied helping plan the attack at the Manchester Arena concert on May 22, 2017, but offered no evidence in his trial. A jury agreed he was as guilty as his brother of murder.
Abedi refused to attend court for the sentencing hearing, where families of the victims had given accounts of the impact the bombing had had on their lives.
The judge said that had Hashem Abedi been over age of 21 at the time of the attack, he would have been given a " whole-life term." Instead, he was sentenced to serve a minimum of 55 years before parole may be considered.
"The defendant should clearly understand the minimum term he should serve is 55 years. He may never be released, '' Baker said, adding that there was a "significant degree of premeditation" and that the motivation for the brothers was "to advance the ideology of Islamism."
Less than two weeks after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, many of them children, at the Manchester concert of Ariana Grande, the American pop singer has held a benefit concert to raise money for the victims' families.
Image: Picture-Alliance/dpa/J. Goodman/London News Pictures via ZUMA
Ariana Grande gets the ball rolling
Singer Ariana Grande returned to the stage in Manchester on Sunday with a program packed with upbeat, defiant pop songs. "Manchester, we're gonna be all right," she yelled, as she kicked off the One Love tribute concert, aimed to raise money for those affected by the May 22 bombing.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/O. Humphreys
All-star lineup
Long queues stretched outside the Old Trafford cricket ground where the charity gig was held. A host of stars performed alongside Ariana Grande, including Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Coldplay, Take That and Miley Cyrus. Former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher - possibly Manchester's most famous rock star - also made a surprise appearance.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Devlin
Let him entertain you
British singer Robbie Williams also took to the stage, changing some of his lyrics of
"Strong" to honor the Manchester victims. "Manchester we're strong ... we're still singing our song," he sang with the more than 50,000 people estimated to have attended the event.
Image: Getty Images/Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester
Standing together
An armed policeman poses for a photo with music fans ahead of the concert. There had been fears the event might be canceled after the terror attacks in London on Saturday night. But Grande's manager, Scooter Braun, said the Manchester concert would go ahead "with greater purpose" because of what happened in London.
Image: Reuters/P. Noble
Tight security
An armed policeman stands at the entrance of the Old Trafford cricket ground. Police had warned security would be tight at the event, with "significant" numbers of personnel and mounted officers.
Image: Reuters/P. Noble
Strong statement against terrorism
The concert's overwhelming message was one of unity and defiance in the face of terror. The concert was streamed worldwide on television and the internet, with all proceeds going to an emergency fund set up by the city of Manchester and the British
Red Cross.
Image: Picture-Alliance/dpa/J. Goodman/London News Pictures via ZUMA
6 images1 | 6
The bomb set off towards the end of the US pop singer's concert as parents arrived to collect their children.
Among the deaths were seven children, the youngest aged eight, while 237 people were injured and hundreds more were reported to have suffered from psychological trauma.
