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Brother of Manchester Arena bomber pleads not guilty to murder

By Clyde Hughes
Flowers left by people as they pay their respects in St. Annes Square on the anniversary of the Manchester Arena bombing in 2018. Hashem Abedi on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to 22 counts of murder in connection with the incident. Photo by Nigel Roddis/EPA-EFE
Flowers left by people as they pay their respects in St. Annes Square on the anniversary of the Manchester Arena bombing in 2018. Hashem Abedi on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to 22 counts of murder in connection with the incident. Photo by Nigel Roddis/EPA-EFE

Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Hashem Abedi, the brother of the 2017 Manchester Arena concert bombing suspect, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to 22 counts of murder in connection to the incident.

Abedi, 22, is accused of helping his brother Salman Abedi conspire to denotate a suicide vest at the end of an Ariana Grande concert at the arena May 22, 2017. Prosecutors say he purchased bomb-making chemicals, assisted in buying a car to store materials for the devices and made the bomb's detonator tubes.

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Abedi traveled to Libya before the attack but was extradited back to Britain where he appeared in the Central Criminal Court in London on Tuesday. Abedi, who was raised in Manchester, was ordered to be held at the London's Belmarsh prison until his trial, which is set for Jan. 13.

Some 14,000 people attended the concert at the Manchester Arena, which was coming to a close when the bomb went off, according to an independent report produced after the incident.

"A suicide bomber detonated an improvised device in an area known as the City Room, which is just outside the Arena and which starts a link to Victoria station," the report said. "The foyer was busy with exiting concert-goers, waiting for family members and merchandise sellers. The bomb used was substantial, containing nearly two thousand nuts and had a devastating impact."

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The report said along with those who were killed and physically injured, "many more suffered psychological and emotional trauma." At that point, the incident was the deadliest terror attack in Britain since the London bombings on July 5, 2005.

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