Hashem Abedi, has for the first time, admitted his involvement in the planning of the Manchester Arena attack, an inquiry has now been told
The terror attack, which had targeted an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, killed 22 people and left many hundreds more injured on the 22nd of May 2017.
Abedi, aged 23, made the admission while in prison in October during a visit by two members of the inquiry’s legal team.
The brother of Salman Abedi, the 22-year-old suicide bomber, had pleaded not guilty earlier in the year to 22 counts of murder and attempted murder, as well as plotting to cause an explosion that was likely to endanger human life.
This comes after a convicted terrorist facilitator who was in contact with the Manchester Arena bomber in the months leading up to the terrorist attack was to be released from prison. Official sources have now confirmed that Abdalraouf Abdallah, 27, would be released from prison last week.
He did not give evidence while at the Old Bailey, but he later provided a pre-prepared defence statement with which he denied his involvement.
He claimed that he had been “shocked” by what his brother had done and said that he did not hold the same extremist views.
He was convicted by a jury for all of the offences for which he was charged and was handed 24 life sentences in August, which means he would have to serve a minimum term of 55 years before he could be considered for parole.
The inquiry, which is currently being held in Manchester, was informed that Abedi was interviewed in prison on the 22nd of October where he had admitted to playing “a full and knowing part” in the attack.
His admission was confirmed by the senior investigating officer in the attack probe, Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Barraclough, of Greater Manchester Police.
Counsel to the inquiry, Paul Greaney QC, said:
“On October 22nd, Hashem Abedi admitted that he had played a full part and a knowing part in the planning and preparation for the arena attack.”
The inquiry was also shown parts of his defence statement that was initially handed to police after his extradition from Libya in July of last year.
He originally said to the police that if he had known about the attack, he would have then reported it to his mother as well as to other family members in order to prevent it from occurring.
He said: “I was shocked my brother had done this and felt bad for everybody. I could never have envisaged that my brother had it in him to do this to innocent people.”
He added he was a practising Muslim but did not “delve too deep into anything other than I pray and read Koran”.
This comes after the UK’s attorney general, Suella Braverman, has told the Court of Appeal that the teenage driver who dragged the Thames Valley Police officer Andrew Harper until he died, should have been given a life sentence.
“I have no interest in Daesh (ISIS) and have no sympathy or support for their ideology and extremism. I am not a member of ISIS nor do I subscribe to their way of thinking or ideology,” he said.
The public inquiry on the Manchester Arena attack is being chaired by Sir John Saunders, a retired high court judge, and is looking into the events before, during and after the devastating attack.
