The brother of Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi has been found guilty of murder over the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing that killed 22 people as they left an Ariana Grande concert.
Abedi has been convicted of all 22 counts of murder, one count of attempted murder encompassing the remaining injured people, and one count of conspiring with suicide bomber brother Salman Abedi to cause explosions.
The 22-year-old helped create the explosives intended “to kill and to inflict maximum damage” on the crowd in a bomb carried by his older brother.
He helped Salman stockpile chemicals at a bomb-making base in north Manchester – and was linked to the blast by a scrap of metal from a Consumer’s Pride vegetable oil can found at the scene of the carnage.
He had also bought screws and nails for shrapnel and used fake online accounts to buy two of the three chemicals needed.
Salman, carrying the bomb in a rucksack, joined the throng of parents and families picking up young concert-goers in the foyer of the 21,000-capacity venue, before detonating it at 10.31pm on May 22.
Abedi was not present in court when the unanimous verdicts were returned.
The judge, Mr Justice Jeremy Baker, said he would not be sentenced until a later date so that victims’ families could plan to attend the Old Bailey should they wish to.
He said “steps would be taken to notify the accused in writing”, adding he would consider hearing submissions for Abedi to be legally represented.
The judge said Abedi would be handed a life sentence. He added: “The result of all of that is that a sentencing date is a little way off.”
Responding to the guilty verdict, Max Hill QC, the Director of Public Prosecutions, said Hashem Abedi had “blood on his hands”.
He said: “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. [...]
“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.
“The CPS worked closely with the police and partners to build a strong case from the outset. We then took steps to successfully extradite him from Libya and placed compelling evidence before the court.
“I want to congratulate those in the CPS’s counter terrorism division who have been working tirelessly for three years to secure Abedi’s conviction.”