Man sentenced for aiding suicide bombing at 2017 Manchester concert

The brother of a suicide bomber who killed 22 people in an explosion at a 2017 concert in Manchester, England, was sentenced on Thursday to a minimum of 55 years behind bars.

Hashem Abedi, 23, was found guilty of murder, attempted murder and conspiring to cause explosions at the Ariana Grande concert three years ago. He had denied helping plan the attack carried out by his brother, Salman Abedi.

Salman Abedi died in the bombing, which also injured hundreds.

“Although Salman Abedi was directly responsible for detonating the explosive device that evening, it is clear that the defendant had taken an integral part not only in the planning of such an event but in participating in its preparation,” ruled Judge Jeremy Baker.

“In these circumstances I am satisfied that, as the prosecution opened its case to the jury, the defendant and his brother were equally culpable for the deaths and injuries which were caused by the explosion,” he said.

Baker added that Hashem Abedi, who declined to attend the sentencing hearing, would have been given a life sentence if he had been over 21 years old at the time of the attack because of “the combination of the substantial degree of premeditation and planning involved in these murders” and because “the motivation for them was to advance the ideological cause of Islamism.”

“The defendant should clearly understand the minimum term he should serve is 55 years. He may never be released,” he ruled.