Manchester Arena trial: jurors watch final movements of bomber Salman Abedi

Jurors in the Manchester Arena trial were taken through the final chilling movements of suicide bomber Salman Abedi, seconds before he brought murderous carnage to the city.
Hashem AbediHashem Abedi
Hashem Abedi

CCTV stills tracking the 22-year-old’s journey to the venue were played on large screens in court number two at the Old Bailey yesterday.

Twenty-two people died in the blast in May 2017, including four people from Lancashire.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Some of the victims’ family members were comforted as details of their loved ones’ lives were read out by the prosecutor.

Footage played to the court showed Abedi carrying a rucksack containing the home-made bomb, leaving his home and making his way to his final destination on May 22, 2017.

He went inside a toilet cubicle nearby then waited an hour before detonating his device, packed with screws and bolts for shrapnel, as thousands of men, women and children streamed out at the end of an Ariana Grande concert at around 10.30pm.

Prosecutors say Abedi’s Manchester-born brother, Hashem, now also 22, was complicit in sourcing and stockpiling components for the bomb.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Hashem Abedi denies 22 counts of murder, one count of attempted murder encompassing the injured survivors, and conspiring with his brother to cause explosions.

The court heard Hashem Abedi told police he had no involvement in the “instigation, preparation or commission” of the 2017 attack, saying he would have “reported it to (his) mother” had he suspected his sibling’s murderous intent.

In a statement to police last summer, Hashem said: “I was shocked my brother had done this and felt bad for everybody.”

(Proceeding)