Arrest warrant issued for brother of Manchester Arena bomber following missed court appearance
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Ismail Abedi, who fled the UK last summer and whose whereabouts are currently unknown, did not attend a hearing at Manchester Magistrates' Court on Tuesday (August 2).
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Hide AdHe faces a jail term of up to 51 weeks if he is captured or hands himself in.
South Shields couple Chloe Rutherford, 17, and boyfriend Liam Curry, 19, were among five people from the North East who died as a result of the blast at the 2017 Ariana Grande concert, which also included Hartlepool mum Jane Tweddle; and Philip Tron, 32, and his partner’s daughter Courtney Boyle, 19, both from Gateshead.
Prosecutor Sophie Cartwright QC told the court that notification of the hearing had been sent to Abedi's last known address.
An email was also sent to an address he had previously used to correspond with the solicitor to the inquiry, as well as a message to his former solicitors.
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Hide AdDistrict Judge Jack McGarva said he was satisfied that Abedi was aware of the hearing, noting proceedings had generated a "great deal of publicity".
Issuing a warrant without bail, he said: "We will now have to wait for him to be apprehended."
Abedi's brother, Salman, 22, killed 22 people when he detonated a suicide bomb at the end of an Ariana Grande concert.