The father and stepmother of Sara Sharif are in the Court of Appeal today as they bid to challenge their sentences for the 10-year-old’s murder.
Ahead of Urfan Sharif and Beinash Batool’s appearance, a representative for the Solicitor General has said Sharif should have received a ‘whole life sentence’.
Sharif and Batool were jailed for life with minimum terms of 40 years and 33 years in December last year for the young girl’s killing.
Sara’s uncle, Faisal Malik, was found guilty of causing or allowing her death, and was jailed for 16 years.
Today, Tom Little KC, for the Solicitor General, said Sara’s murder was a rare case of such ‘exceptionally high seriousness’ that it warranted a whole life order for Sharif.
He said in written submissions: ‘It is submitted that it is difficult to conceive of a murder being perpetrated on a young girl by her own father that could be any more serious than this.
‘Whilst that is not the test it is illustrative of the need to consider the individual facts of the case.’
She was found dead in a bunkbed at the family home in Woking, Surrey, in August 2023.
Described as a ‘very courageous little girl with an unquenchable spirit’, she suffered years of torture at the hands of dad Urfan, who regularly battered her with a cricket bat, metal pole and phone – even as she lay dying.
Sara suffered more than 25 broken bones, iron burns on her bottom, burn marks likely from hot water on her feet, and human adult bite marks during a campaign of abuse spanning at least two years.
All three adults fled to Pakistan, leaving Sara’s battered and broken body under the pink duvet on her bunk bed at their Surrey home.
The judge deemed Mr Sharif’s abuse of Sara to be so severe, he ordered him to serve a minimum of 40 years behind bars before he can be considered for parole.
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But Naeem Mian KC, representing Sharif, said that a whole life order would not be the appropriate sentence in this case.
He said: ‘We say, without hesitation, this is not one of those exceptional cases.’
Caroline Carberry KC, representing Sara’s stepmother Batool, said her sentence was too long and did not properly reflect her secondary role.
‘Nothing we say today on behalf of Beinash Batool detracts from the horror of Sara’s treatment,’ she told the court.
Factoring in moments of kindness Ms Batool showed to Sara, and that she was in a ‘coercive and controlling’ relationship, the judge had ordered Ms Batool to a minimum term of 33 years.
‘The degree of cruelty involved is almost inconceivable’, Mr Justice Cavanagh said at the time. ‘This happened in plain sight, in front of the rest of the family.’
Her uncle, Faisal Malik, 29, who lived with them, was convicted of causing or allowing her death after a jury deliberated for nine hours and 46 minutes. Mr Malik was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
The Court of Appeal hearing before the Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, Mr Justice Soole and Mr Justice Goose this morning.
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