LONDON (CelebrityAccess) — The younger brother of the suicide bomber who killed nearly two dozen people at an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena in May of 2017 reportedly pleaded not guilty to 22 counts of murder in a London court Thursday (July 18), according to The Associated Press.
22-year-old Hashem Abedi, whose brother Salman Abedi blew himself up amid concertgoers that day, was detained in Libya, his parents’ homeland, soon after the attack and extradited to Britain on Wednesday (July 17), reports AP.
Abedi is also charged with one count of attempted murder relating to the more than 260 people who were injured, and one count of conspiring to cause explosions.
Authorities reportedly believe Abedi played a major role in planning the suicide bombing, which was the deadliest in a string of attacks in London and Manchester in 2017.
Abedi’s lawyer, Zafar Ali, reportedly told that court that his client had been in solitary confinement while being held by the Tripoli-based Special Deterrence Force, and that he had been tortured and forced to sign a confession under duress, according to AP.
Abedi was remain in custody until a bail hearing on Monday.
