The brother of the Manchester Arena suicide bomber who is suspected of helping plan the UK atrocity has finally been extradited from Libya and charged with murder after a two year wait.
Salman Abedi, a 22-year-old Briton born to Libyan parents, blew himself up at the end of a show by US singer Ariana Grande in the deadliest militant attack in Britain for 12 years.
The terror attack killed 22 people and injured more than 500 others.
The UK had requested the extradition of his younger brother Hashem, 21, after police issued an arrest warrant against him for murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to cause an explosion.
But due to unrest in Libya his extradition had been delayed until now.
He was arrested at an airport in London on Wednesday as he stepped onto British soil and has been charged with murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to cause an explosion likely to endanger life.
The families of the 22 victims have waited for justice for their loved ones since May 2017 but now many fear there will be further delays in the case.
A pre-inquest review hearing is due to take place in Manchester on Monday.
But under British law criminal proceedings take precedent over an inquest.
Director of solicitor’s firm Broudie Jackson Canter, Elkan Abrahamson, who represents many of the families, told The National: “The concern of the families will be that the inquest and inquiry is not further delayed.
“Our stance is there is no reason why the criminal proceedings can’t conclude before April 2020. We will certainly be raising this.”
Abedi is expected to attend Westminster Magistrates Court to face charges.
On Wednesday, British Prime Minister Theresa May paid tribute to the victims' families.
She said: "We all know that the attack that took place in Manchester was appalling and senseless and this is clearly an important moment.
"I hope it is a welcome step for all the loved ones who have commanded themselves with such dignity at a deeply distressing time as they searched for justice.
"I would like to thank everyone who has helped us to come to this point."
Earlier on Wednesday, the force who was holding him in the Libyan capital Tripoli, the Special Deterrence Force (Rada), handed him to officers from Greater Manchester Police who escorted him back to the UK.
An Rada official said: "Hashem is now in the air on his way to the UK...he is extradited in accordance with a court verdict.
"We received an official letter from the head of the attorney general's investigations department, telling us to extradite Hashem Abedi to UK authorities based on a verdict by Tripoli's court of appeals."
Sources on the ground in Tripoli told The National that both the Ministry of Justice and the Interior Ministry in the Libyan capital had independently confirmed Abedi's extradition.
The ministries had enacted the extradition to the UK in accordance with an earlier court ruling.
They also confirmed the suspect had been held by Special Deterrent Forces, known as Rada, since he was arrested in 2017 in the aftermath of the Manchester bombing attack.
A Tripoli resident, who asked for his name to be withheld for security reasons, explained while locals had been saddened by Libyan involvement in the ISIS-inspired terror attack, Abedi’s extradition barely registered in the embattled city. “The lack of services leave people in Tripoli exhausted and they are working here and there just to provide for their daily needs,” he explained.
Rada, a counter-terrorism and anti-crime group aligned with the internationally recognised government in Tripoli, arrested Hashem shortly after the bombing on suspicion he had helped plan the attack.
Rada said at the time that the brothers had flown together to Libya in April 2017, before Salman returned to Britain to carry out the attack at the Manchester Arena in May.
The UN-backed Government of National Accord in Tripoli had agreed last year to his return to the UK but had been unable to convince the Rada to transfer him.
Even pleas by a UK coroner and the victims' families ahead of the second anniversary failed to see any movement in the case until now.
British police believe Hashem helped his brother to buy the materials used to make the explosive device used in the attack.
Hashem was living with his father, a Qaddafi-era dissident, and other family members in Tripoli at the time of the attack.
He was arrested by the militia days after the concert bombing and was being held in a prison near Tripoli airport.
Attempts to extradite him had also been hampered by the fact that as a dual national with British and Libyan citizenship, he could ask not to be extradited under Libyan law.
But the GNA Attorney General gave commitments to British diplomats to push forward.
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2018 Ford Mustang GT
Price, base / as tested: Dh204,750 / Dh241,500
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Gearbox: 10-speed automatic
Power: 460hp @ 7,000rpm
Torque: 569Nm @ 4,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.3L / 100km
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
FIGHT CARD
Welterweight Mostafa Radi (PAL) v Tohir Zhuraev (TJK)
Catchweight 75kg Leandro Martins (BRA) v Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR)
Flyweight Corinne Laframboise (CAN) v Manon Fiorot (FRA)
Featherweight Ahmed Al Darmaki (UAE) v Bogdan Kirilenko (UZB)
Lightweight Izzedine Al Derabani (JOR) v Atabek Abdimitalipov (KYG)
Featherweight Yousef Al Housani (UAE) v Mohamed Arsharq Ali (SLA)
Catchweight 69kg Jung Han-gook (KOR) v Elias Boudegzdame (ALG)
Catchweight 71kg Usman Nurmagomedov (RUS) v Jerry Kvarnstrom (FIN)
Featherweight title Lee Do-gyeom (KOR) v Alexandru Chitoran (ROU)
Lightweight title Bruno Machado (BRA) v Mike Santiago (USA)
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
more from Janine di Giovanni
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India squad for fourth and fifth Tests
Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rahul, Shaw, Pujara, Rahane (vc), Karun, Karthik (wk), Pant (wk), Ashwin, Jadeja, Pandya, Ishant, Shami, Umesh, Bumrah, Thakur, Vihari
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
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SERIE A FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Saturday
Roma v Udinese (5pm)
SPAL v Napoli (8pm)
Juventus v Torino (10.45pm)
Sunday
Sampdoria v AC Milan (2.30pm)
Inter Milan v Genoa (5pm)
Crotone v Benevento (5pm)
Verona v Lazio (5pm)
Cagliari v Chievo (5pm)
Sassuolo v Bologna (8pm)
Fiorentina v Atalanta (10.45pm)
THE BIO:
Favourite holiday destination: Thailand. I go every year and I’m obsessed with the fitness camps there.
Favourite book: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. It’s an amazing story about barefoot running.
Favourite film: A League of their Own. I used to love watching it in my granny’s house when I was seven.
Personal motto: Believe it and you can achieve it.
Teaching in coronavirus times
Results
STAGE
1 . Filippo Ganna (Ineos) - 0:13:56
2. Stefan Bissegger (Education-Nippo) - 0:00:14
3. Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates) - 0:00:21
4. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) - 0:00:24
5. Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) - 0:00:30
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) - 4:00:05
2. Joao Almeida (QuickStep) - 0:00:05
3. Mattia Cattaneo (QuickStep) - 0:00:18
4. Chris Harper (Jumbo-Visma) - 0:00:33
5. Adam Yates (Ineos) - 0:00:39
