Brother of Manchester bombers apologises for ‘all the pain they’ve caused’
The older brother of the two men responsible for the Manchester Arena bombing has apologised to the victims’ families and said he is ‘glad’ his sibling will serve life in jail.
Ismail Abedi has spoken out for the first time after his brother, Hashem, was jailed for his part in the terrorist attack that killed 22 people and injured hundreds.
He told Sky News he had ‘no idea’ Hashem and his other brother Salman, who blew himself up inside the arena, had ‘taken this path.’
‘I want to apologise on behalf of my family to the victims, for all the pain Hashem and Salman caused,’ he said.
On Thursday, Hashem, 23, was sentenced to life in jail with a minimum of 55 years after being found guilty of 22 counts of murder.
The court heard how he had helped his brother build and transport the bomb that was detonated shortly after an Ariana Grande concert finished on May 22 2017.
The judge told him he was ‘equally culpable’ for the explosion and may never get out of prison.
Responding to his brother’s sentence, Ismail said: ‘I’m glad this has happened because I can put it all behind me, get on with my life and look after my family.’
Hashem refused to attend court during much of the trial and for his sentencing. Families of the victims said he had showed them ‘contempt.’
The brothers bought nuts and screws for shrapnel and ordered chemicals from Amazon to make their homemade explosives.
They hid their activities by switching mobile phones and using a variety of runaround vehicles, despite neither passing their driving test, to transport components around the city.
Ismail grew up with his brothers in Manchester and kept in touch with them despite leaving the family home to get married and have a child.
He said he noticed changes in Salman, but didn’t have any idea what he was capable of.
He told Sky: ‘Salman had changed over time, he’d become more religious, would spend more time in the mosque… but that was just normal.
‘I spoke to him the night before the attack, he seemed calm, quite normal, there was no indication he’d do anything like this.’
Ismail himself was arrested in the aftermath of the attack and questioned for two weeks before being released without charge.
He says the past three years ‘have been hell’ and his family has been ‘ripped apart’ by what happened.
He added: ’What’s happened has happened. I can’t stop it now, I can’t go back. It’s done and dusted. He died, they died.’
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