Salman Abedi: Alleged Manchester attacker’s father says son is innocent
Ramadan Abedi denies his son is linked to extremist militants
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The father of the alleged Manchester bomber has said his son is innocent, according to a report.
Ramadan Abedi is understood to have denied his son is linked to extremist militants or the suicide bombing that killed 22 people.
Mr Abedi said he spoke to his 22-year-old son, Salman Abedi, five days ago and he was getting ready to visit Saudi Arabia and sounded "normal”, Associated Press (AP) reported.
He said that his son visited Libya a month-and-a-half ago.
The elder Abedi, speaking to AP by telephone from Tripoli, said: "We don't believe in killing innocents. This is not us."
He said his other son, Ismael, was arrested on Tuesday morning.
A family friend told The Independent Abedi and his brother remained in the UK when their parents returned to Libya with the rest of the family four years ago but travelled back and forth to the war-torn country.
Mr Abedi, Salman's father, fled Tripoli in 1993 after Muammar Gaddafi's security authorities issued an arrest warrant and eventually sought political asylum in Britain.
He is now the administrative manager of the Central Security force in Tripoli.
Suspected suicide bomber Abedi was born in Britain to a Libyan family, grew up in Manchester's southern suburbs and once attended university there.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments