The father and stepmother of Sara Sharif, a 10-year-old girl who was found dead in her home in Britain, were on Tuesday jailed for 40 and 33 years respectively for her murder after a trial which heard harrowing details of Sara’s treatment.
She was found dead in August 2023 at her home in Woking, a town southwest of London, after what prosecutors said was a campaign of “serious and repeated violence”.
The family fled to Pakistan immediately after Sara Sharif was killed, before they were arrested in September 2023 at London’s Gatwick Airport after flying from Dubai.
Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones told jurors at the start of the trial that Sara had suffered injuries including burns, multiple broken bones and bite marks.
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Sara’s father Urfan Sharif (43) and his wife Beinash Batool (30) stood trial at London’s Old Bailey court charged with her murder, which they denied.
Last week, the jury convicted Urfan Sharif and Batool of Sara’s murder. Sara’s uncle Faisal Malik (29) was found not guilty of murder but guilty of causing or allowing Sara’s death.
Sharif and Batool appeared in the dock at the Old Bailey, where they heard a statement read on behalf of Sara’s mother Olga Domin who called them “executioners”.
“You are sadists, although even this word is not enough for you,” her statement read. “I would say you are executioners.”
Judge John Cavanagh sentenced Sharif to a minimum of 40 years in prison and Batool to a minimum of 33 years. Malik was sentenced to 16 years.
“The courts at the Old Bailey have been witness to many accounts of awful crimes, but few can have been more terrible than the account of the despicable treatment of this poor child that the jury in this case have had to endure,” the judge said.
“It is no exaggeration to describe the campaign of abuse against Sara as torture.”
The judge paid tribute to the “beautiful little girl” who was “full of personality” and “adored” her younger brother.
He referenced a tribute from Sara’s mother, Olga Sharif, in which she said her daughter was “always smiling” and “had a unique character”.
The judge continued: “It is clear that Sara stood up for herself and remained positive and cheerful in the most terrible circumstances.
“She was a very courageous little girl, with an unquenchable spirit. She loved to sing and dance.
“The jury was shown a video of Sara dancing in front of the TV a few days before she died.
“It is clear that, by this stage, her mobility was impaired, but, despite everything, she smiled at the camera.”
Addressing the defendants, judge Cavanagh said pieces of writing done by Sara were “among the most heartbreaking pieces of evidence” in the case, including a birthday card addressed to her father which read “Happy Birthday Dad, I love you so much”.
The judge said Sara had written a short story in which she described her stepmother “as a queen who is ‘beautiful and young’” and a letter to Sharif and Batool where she had apologised for answering back, and wrote “‘please forgive me I am so sorry’”.
“The reality was that abuse which for anyone else would be exceptional had become normalised for this little girl. She had known nothing else for much of her life,” he added.
The judge’s voice shook as he described some of the injuries found on Sara’s body during the post-mortem examination, including two open burn wounds from an iron, a break in her hyoid neck bone, six human bite marks and a brain injury. – Agencies