Court to sentence father, stepmother in Sara Sharif murder case

A COURT is set to sentence Sara Sharif’s father and stepmother on Tuesday for their roles in her death, following a case that revealed prolonged abuse and shocked the country.

Sara, aged 10, was found dead in her bed in August 2023. Her body showed signs of extensive injuries, including bite marks, bruises, broken bones, and burns.

A post-mortem examination revealed she had sustained over 100 injuries and at least 25 fractures.

Her father, Urfan Sharif, 43, admitted during the trial to beating Sara with a cricket bat while she was bound with packaging tape. He also throttled her with his hands, which caused a fracture to the hyoid bone in her neck.

Last week, the Old Bailey found Sharif and Sara’s stepmother, Beinash Batool, 30, guilty after a 10-week trial. Her uncle, Faisal Malik, 29, was convicted of causing or allowing Sara’s death.

The three adults fled to Pakistan the day after Sara’s death, taking five other children with them. On the way to the airport, Sharif called the police to report his daughter’s death and left behind a handwritten note stating he “did not mean to kill” Sara but had “lost it.”

Abuse missed by authorities

The defendants were arrested on their return to the UK a month later. They were detained upon landing, while the five other children remain in Pakistan.

The case has raised serious concerns about social services. Sara’s father withdrew her from school four months before her death, which left her outside the purview of authorities.

In court, her teacher described how Sara arrived in class wearing a hijab to cover marks on her body. Sara refused to explain the injuries.

Social services had been aware of Sara’s family before she was born. She and her siblings were placed in foster care due to abuse allegations but were later returned to their mother.

In 2019, despite a history of abusive behaviour, custody of Sara and an older sibling was granted to Sharif after he separated from his first wife.

Final days of abuse

The court heard that Sara’s school referred her case to child services in March 2023 after noticing injuries on her face. Social services investigated but took no action. In April 2023, Sharif informed the school that Sara would be home-schooled, further isolating her.

On the day she died, Sharif hit Sara twice in the stomach with a metal high-chair leg while she lay unconscious on her stepmother’s lap. He accused her of pretending. Neither Batool nor Malik expressed remorse during the trial.

Libby Clark from the Crown Prosecution Service said: “None of us can imagine how appalling and brutal Sara’s treatment was in the last few weeks of her short life.”

Children’s commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza stated: “Sara was failed in the starkest terms by the safety net of services around her.”

The case has led to renewed calls for better protection for children. Prime minister Keir Starmer pledged to strengthen safeguards for home-schooled children after the verdict.

(With inputs from AFP)