Manchester Arena plotter Hashem Abedi demanded fresh mineral water and kept delaying trial by claiming he felt unwell

Hashem Abedi in the dock at the Old Bailey
PA
Rebecca Speare-Cole17 March 2020
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The brother of the Manchester Arena bomber delayed his murder trial by demanding fresh bottled mineral water and claiming he felt unwell.

Hashem Abedi, 22, was found guilty of murder at the Old Bailey on Tuesday after plotting with his older brother Salman to detonate a homemade explosive packed with shrapnel at an Ariana Grande concert on May 22, 2017.

The extremist brothers bought huge amounts of chemicals online for their bomb and met with a convicted ISIS terrorist as they plotted the atrocity.

Salman, 22, was the one who carried out the attack, blowing himself up in the foyer of the arena as concertgoers – including many young children – streamed for the exits and to meet their parents.

The 22-year-old was found guilty of murder at the Old Bailey on Tuesday
PA Wire/PA Images

Hashem was in Libya with his family when the bomb went off, but was today convicted of 22 counts of murder, attempted murder, and a charge of conspiracy to cause explosions.

It can now be reported that during his trial, he demanded fresh mineral water in jail and repeatedly delayed his trial because he claimed he felt unwell, suffered flashbacks and was exhausted.

As families of the victims looked on, lawyers for the 22-year-old bomb plotter even called a halt to proceedings on the second day of the prosecution opening so they could raise his demands for bottled water in private.

Hashem Abedi on trial at the Old Bailey
PA Wire/PA Images

The judge, Mr Justice Baker, was told Abedi refused to drink tap water at Belmarsh Prison, causing him to become severely dehydrated.

Weeks later, jurors were sent home again barely a minute into their working day after being told simply that the defendant, who had opted to stay in his cell rather than face the court during part of the previous week, was "feeling unwell".

His counsel, Stephen Kamlish QC, told the judge on March 3: "The reason he's not here is because he is unwell."

The scene close to the Manchester Arena after the terror attack
PA

He added: "The prison have ordered a psychologist or psychiatrist to see him today.

"He says this morning he made an effort, left his cell, came down to the search area and just cannot carry on. He did try, he's feeling exhausted.

"Over the last two weeks or so he's been telling us this and we have been having discussions with him carrying on ... But he says the point has come where he feels he cannot come in."

Mr Kamlish added: "He's been having flashbacks, hardly any sleep and he's just reached the point where he's just overwhelmed by it all."

Manchester Arena Terror Attack: Victims

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Before the second day opened, Mr Kamlish said Abedi was dehydrated due to a lack of bottled water.

His barrister said: "The only problem is he has not been drinking in prison. If My Lord was to say: 'Bottled water be provided'?"

The judge said it was "essential" the situation did not occur again and that bottled water was provided.

Hashem, who was extradited from Libya to face justice in the wake of the devastating attack, denied any knowledge of his brother’s plot, suggesting he too had been conned by Salman into believing the bomb parts were simply for household use.

But when the time came to explain himself, Hashem refused to give evidence at his trial, he stopped attending court, and sacked his legal team.

He was absent from the dock today as the verdicts were delivered.

Hashem will now be held in custody until a sentencing hearing at a later date.

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