Hashem Abedi, the brother of the man responsible for the fatal explosion at a 2017 Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, has been found guilty of 22 murders.
The unanimous verdict was announced in court on Tuesday, per the Guardian, at which point each victim's name was read aloud.
"He is a man who is equally responsible as his brother for this horrendous attack, this monstrous attack," Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Barraclough, who was the senior investigating officer on the night of the Manchester Arena suicide bombing, said. "The way he has conducted himself since he landed demonstrates even more the jihadi mindset that would be supportive of the sick ideology of IS (Islamic State)."
Hashem Abedi's older brother Salman detonated the bomb that ultimately claimed 22 lives, in addition to Salman's own. Initially, Hashem attempted to argue that the attack was his brother's undertaking, though the subsequent investigation showed that the two had collaborated on the tragic attack that took place just after Grande had wrapped her performance on the night of May 22, 2017.
Hashem will now be sentenced for the 22 counts of murder, as well as a count of attempted murder and for conspiring with his older brother on the attack.
Last year, Grande's mother—Joan Grande—marked the two-year anniversary of the Manchester bombing with a special tribute message.
"To ALL of you who have suffered and still suffer from tremendous loss, trauma, or devastating injury," she said. "I love you, I send you a warm hug, today and forever."
