UK court to sentence British-Pakistani father and stepmother in Sara Sharif murder

Photo: Reuters 

A UK court is set to sentence the father and stepmother of Sara Sharif, a 10-year-old British-Pakistani girl who died after suffering horrific abuse. Her death shocked the country. Sara's body was found in her bed in August 2023, covered in bruises, bites, burns, and broken bones. A post-mortem revealed that Sara had more than 100 injuries and at least 25 broken bones.

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Her father, Urfan Sharif, 43, admitted to beating Sara with a cricket bat. He also bound her with packaging tape and choked her with his hands, breaking the bone in her neck. Her stepmother, Beinash Batool, 30, was also found guilty of abuse after a 10-week trial at the Old Bailey in London. Additionally, Sara’s uncle, Faisal Malik, 29, was found guilty of causing or allowing her death.

The tragic story began when Sara was found dead in her bed. The day after her death, her father and stepmother fled their home in Woking, southwest London, and flew to Pakistan with five other children. Before leaving, Urfan Sharif called the police from the airport to report that Sara had died, leaving behind a note. In the note, he claimed that he had not meant to kill his daughter, but "lost it."

After a month of being on the run, the three adults returned to the UK and were arrested as soon as they landed. The five other children are still in Pakistan. There has been a great deal of anger in the UK over the failure of social services to protect Sara. Her father had withdrawn her from school four months before her death, and her teacher later testified that Sara came to class wearing a hijab to cover marks on her body, but she refused to explain them.

Sara’s father had been granted custody of her in 2019, after separating from his first wife, despite previous abuse allegations. Sara had spent time in foster care in the past. In March 2023, after Sara was seen with injuries on her face, her school reported the case to Child Services. However, the investigation was not pursued, and no further action was taken. In April 2023, the family moved house, and Urfan Sharif informed the school that Sara would be homeschooled from then on.

The Crown Prosecution Service's Libby Clark expressed the horror of Sara's treatment, saying "None of us can imagine how appalling and brutal Sara's treatment was in the last few weeks of her short life." Dame Rachel de Souza, the Children’s Commissioner, stated that Sara was "failed in the starkest terms" by the safety net of services around her. Despite being known to social services for years, Sara slipped through their system, and no one acted to protect her.

Before Sara was born, her family had already been involved with social services. After being abused, Sara and her older siblings were placed in care but later returned to their mother when her parents separated. In 2019, a judge awarded custody of Sara and her older brother to Urfan Sharif, despite his past history of abuse.

On the day Sara died, Urfan Sharif brutally hit her twice in the stomach with a metal chair leg while she lay unconscious on her stepmother's lap. He accused her of pretending to be hurt. Both Beinash Batool and Faisal Malik did not speak during the trial and have not shown any remorse for their actions.

Sara's tragic case is part of a wider pattern of child abuse cases that have sparked public outrage. These cases have led to repeated promises from authorities to improve safeguards for children. After the trial, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed to strengthen protections for children, especially those who are homeschooled, to prevent further tragedies like Sara’s.

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