Hashem Abedi, brother of the suicide bomber who blew himself up during an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, is "just as guilty as his brother," according to London court prosecutor Old Bailey. He is now accused of not only helping his brother prepare for the attack, but also of murder, attempted murder and of having conspired to cause an explosion. He had been extradited from Libya last July after an agreement with the Libyan authorities and arrested on July 17, 2019 as soon as he arrived in London.
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The 22-year-old Briton is appearing in London today for the second time after a first postponement of the hearings. He claims his innocence in the face of the acts of his brother who killed 22 people and injured more than 500 others on May 22, 2017.
"He is just as responsible for this atrocity as well as the offenses identified in the indictment, as much as if he had selected the target and detonated the bomb himself," said prosecutor Duncan Penny.
Hashem Abedi would have helped his brother to obtain the ingredients necessary for the manufacture of the homemade bomb, experimented with its manufacture with his brother and having bought the nails and nuts which served as shards.
The court said the two brothers allegedly manufactured and stored the explosive devices at a separate address from their home in Manchester, shortly after returning to Libya in April 2017.