The father and stepmother of Sara Sharif will not have their sentences for the 10-year-old’s murder reduced, appeal judges have ruled.
In December last year, Urfan Sharif was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of at least 40 years in prison and Beinash Batool a minimum of 33 years.
Sara’s uncle, Faisal Malik, was also sentenced to a minimum of 16 years after being found guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child.
All three brought bids to challenge their sentences at the Court of Appeal, while the Solicitor General asked judges to increase Sharif’s sentence under the unduly lenient sentencing scheme.
However, the judges rejected the appeal to have their sentences reduced. They also ruled that Sharif’s sentence was not unduly lenient.
Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr – sitting with Mr Justice Soole and Mr Justice Goose – declined to alter their sentences.
She said: “We can see no arguable basis to challenge the conclusion of the trial judge.
“None of the sentences imposed in this case can properly be described as manifestly excessive.
“We are not persuaded that anything less than a whole life order was unduly lenient.
“The judge who heard the lengthy trial was right to describe Sara’s death as the culmination of years of neglect, frequent assaults and torture.”
Baroness Carr added that the court should give “great weight” to Mr Justice Cavanagh’s assessment, as he was “in the very best position to make the assessment that he did.”
Sara was found dead in a bunk bed at the family home in Woking, Surrey, in August 2023.
She had suffered 71 recent injuries at the time of her death, including 25 broken bones, iron burns on her bottom, scalding marks to her feet, and human bites, appeal judges were told.
They also heard that Sara was made to stand against a wall with her arms up, forced to do sit-ups and was occasionally woken up in the middle of the night so her father, Sharif, could “impose physical punishment on her”.
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Sara, aged “six or seven”, was also made to do the washing and tidying at home, the court heard.
Baroness Carr said: “Neither Sharif, nor Batool, had any concern for Sara’s happiness or her quality of life.
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“She was treated as if she was worthless. No allowances were made for her age.”
The court also heard that Sara had been “deprived of an education”, as she was taken out of school on two occasions in June 2022 and April 2023, when her bruises became visible.
She subsequently wore a hijab and had makeup put on her by her stepmother to hide her injuries, appeal judges were told.
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Sharif, 42, Batool, 30, and Malik, 29, fled to Pakistan with the rest of their family after Sara was killed.
The three adults, along with five children, were captured on CCTV at Heathrow Airport, where they boarded a flight to Islamabad the day after Sara’s death.
They were arrested as they returned to Gatwick Airport on 13 September, 2023.
