The elder brother of the Manchester Arena bomber was 'determined' not to co-operate with the public inquiry into the atrocity 'from the first', a QC said as Ishmale Abedi was found guilty in his absence of failing to comply with a legal requirement to attend and give evidence.
Nicholas de la Poer QC, prosecuting on behalf of the inquiry's chairman, told a court: "He has prevaricated. He has obfuscated.
"He has thrown up every obstacle he could think of. And when those failed, he fled the jurisdiction. In the end it comes down to this. He was lawfully required to attend, he did not attend and there is no good reason for him not attending."
Abedi, 28, now also known as Ishmale Ben Romdhan, flew out of the UK in August last year - he was due to give evidence to the inquiry in the October. A lawyer acting for the bereaved families told the inquiry in the aftermath Abedi had effectively 'been able to flee then laugh in the face of the inquiry'.
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He was 'required' to appear before the chairman, Sir John Saunders, after a 'Section 21' notice was issued. Section 21 of the Inquiries Act allows the chair of an inquiry to require a person to give evidence. Section 35 of the Inquiries Act states a person is guilty of an offence if he or she fails without reasonable excuse to do anything that he or she is required to do by a notice under Section 21.
A failure to comply with a section 21 notice carries a maximum penalty of 51 weeks imprisonment.
Abedi - whose DNA was found on an item in a Nissan Micra car used by bomber Salman Abedi and his brother, Hashem, to store explosives they manufactured for the bomb - was 'port-stopped' by Greater Manchester Police at Manchester Airport on August 28 last year, where he told police officers he was only leaving the country for three weeks.
But he was released and managed to board a flight to Istanbul the next day. It is believed his family has followed, but his current whereabouts are unknown.
Sitting at Manchester magistrates' court on Thursday, District Judge Jack McGarva found him guilty in his absence after a trial, but Abedi wasn't sentenced. He adjourned the case to August 2 to 'require him to attend' but said if Abedi didn't attend, a warrant for his arrest would be issued.
District Judge McGarva said: "The court is bound to consider passing a custodial sentence. There is a very high level of public interest in ensuring people co-operate with public inquiries."
The court heard the issuing of an arrest warrant would mean his details being circulated and he would be 'wanted' by Europol and Interpol. District Judge McGarva said: "If he does not attend court, I will issue a warrant for his arrest. I think we know what is likely to happen."
He added that he was satisfied Abedi was 'in a position to give relevant evidence' - evidence he said bereaved families and others 'would have really appreciated having answers to' - and that he was satisfied Abedi had 'no reasonable excuse' for not attending.
The court heard Abedi was notified of his summons to attend court, and of statements and exhibits ahead of the trial, via an email address he had previously used to communicate with the public inquiry, but there has been no response.
Mr de la Poer said: "As a person who lived with Salman Abedi during the period running up to the attack and as his older brother, the defendant was uniquely well placed to provide an insight into understanding how Salman Abedi came to be radicalised. The defendant was required to attend the inquiry. He failed to attend. He was aware of the requirement to do so."
Abedi, said the QC, had previously said he did not want to answer the inquiry's questions because he was concerned about risk of self-incrimination, had already been questioned by police, and was concerned for the safety of himself and his family.
His father, Ramadan Abedi, was associated with the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, a militia that had links with terror organisation al-Qaida, the public inquiry heard, and lives in Libya. He, too, has not co-operated with the inquiry,
Oral evidence at the inquiry came to an end in March this year after 196 days. Chairman Sir John is expected to publish his second report, focusing on the response of the emergency services to the attack, in November. The third and final report, considering whether the security services and counter-terrorism police could, and should, have prevented the bombing, and the radicalisation of the suicide bomber, will follow.
Salman Abedi, 22, detonated a device in a rucksack as crowds left an Ariana Grande concert at the venue. Sixty three people were also seriously injured, with 111 hospitalised. His brother Hashem Abedi, 24, was jailed for life for the 22 murders by assisting the bomb plot.
Kim Harrison, Principal Lawyer and head of operations for abuse law, human rights and public inquiries at Slater and Gordon, who represented 11 of the victims’ families of the Manchester Arena bombing, said: “Whilst we welcome the conviction of Ismail Abedi today we remain sorely disappointed that the conviction had to take place in his absence.
"We remain gravely concerned as to how Abedi was able to leave the country before giving evidence to the Inquiry in the first place. His leaving the country should never have happened and despite the conviction he is unlikely to face any real justice until he is apprehended, if at all. The families deserve to know the truth about what happened that night and the contempt Ismail Abedi has shown them is truly despicable.”
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