Brother of Manchester Arena bomber to appear in court accused of 22 murders
He is suspected to have helped his brother carry out the attack
Ben TownsendThe younger brother of the Manchester Arena Bomber will go on trial for mass murder, it has been confirmed.
Hashem Ramadan Abedi, 22, will appear at the Old Bailey in London to be charged with 22 counts of murder, before a public inquiry into the bombing is launched.
He is suspected to have helped his brother, Salman Abedi, plan the radical Islamist suicide attack which killed 22 people and injured 260 at an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena on May 22, 2017.
He has been charged one count of murder for each victim.
The defendant, from Fallowfield, has previously denied every charge against him, including attempted murder and conspiration to cause an explosion with the intent to harm others.
Hashem Abedi's brother, Salman Abedi, used an explosive vest to murder fans as they left the concert in 2017, in the foyer area of the Manchester Arena. The attack has been deemed one of the deadliest in the UK since the London bombings in 2005.
Raised in the Whalley Range area of Manchester, Hashem Abedi left the UK for Libya before the Arena attack but was arrested in Tripoli last year and sent to the UK to be tried for mass murder.
A public inquiry into the Manchester Arena bombing, which cannot begin until Hashem Abedi’s trial has finished, has been delayed until June 15th and is predicted to last for around four months.
Preliminary hearings will take place on February 28th and March 20th.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP), North West Ambulance Service and Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, among others, are expected to provide evidence during the hearings.
Hashem Abedi is accused of murdering: Saffie Roussos, 8; Sorrell Leczkowski, 14; Nell Jones, 14; Eilidh MacLeod, 14; Olivia Campbell-Hardy, 15; Megan Hurley, 15; Chloe Rutherford,17; Georgina Callander, 18; Liam Curry, 19; Courtney Boyle, 19; John Atkinson, 26; Martyn Hett, 29; L Philip Tron, 32; Kelly Brewster, 32; Angelika Klis, 39; Marcin Klis, 42; Lisa Lees, 43; Elaine McIver, 43; Michelle Kiss, 45; Alison Howe, 45; Wendy Fawell, 50; Jane Tweddle, 51.