Manchester bomber's brother jailed for at least 55 years

A court in Britain on Thursday sentenced Hashem Abedi, the younger brother of the suicide bomber who set off an explosion at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, to a minimum of 55 years in jail. 

His brother Salman Abedi died in the blast, which killed 22 people and injured hundreds more.

Judge Jeremy Baker said the two brothers were "equally culpable for the deaths and injuries caused by the explosion."

"Although Salman Abedi was directly responsible, it was clear the defendant took an integral part in the planning,"  Baker said.

Abedi, now aged 23, was found guilty in March of 22 counts of murder, attempted murder, and conspiring to cause explosions likely to endanger life.

Read more: Manchester bomb attack: UK remembers victims one year on  

'He may never be released'

Hashem Abedi had denied helping plan the attack at the Manchester Arena concert on May 22, 2017, but offered no evidence in his trial. A jury agreed he was as guilty as his brother of murder.

Abedi refused to attend court for the sentencing hearing, where families of the victims had given accounts of the impact the bombing had had on their lives.

The judge said that had Hashem Abedi been over age of 21 at the time of the attack, he would have been given a " whole-life term." Instead, he was sentenced to serve a minimum of 55 years before parole may be considered.

"The defendant should clearly understand the minimum term he should serve is 55 years. He may never be released, '' Baker said, adding that there was a "significant degree of premeditation" and that the motivation for the brothers was "to advance the ideology of Islamism."

Read more: How 'closed communities' provide a breeding ground for radical Islam

Both brothers grew up in Manchester. 

The bomb set off towards the end of the US pop singer's concert as parents arrived to collect their children. 

Among the deaths were seven children, the youngest aged eight, while 237 people were injured and hundreds more were reported to have suffered from psychological trauma.

mvb/rt (AP, AFP, Reuters)