UK court sentenced Urfan Sharif, 43, and Beinash Batool, 30, to life imprisonment for the brutal murder of 10-year-old British Pakistani Sara Sharif, who died after enduring a prolonged campaign of “torture” and “despicable abuse.”
The pair will serve minimum terms of 40 and 33 years respectively, as ruled by Judge John Cavanagh at London’s Old Bailey.
The court heard harrowing details of Sara’s suffering, with her body found covered in bruises, bite marks, burns from an electric iron, and multiple broken bones.
Describing the acts as “extreme cruelty,” the judge condemned the lack of remorse shown by Sharif and Batool.
“The pain and trauma Sara endured during this campaign of violence are unimaginable,” he said. “This poor child was battered with great force repeatedly.”
Sara’s final moments were marked by unimaginable brutality. The judge recounted how she had been beaten with a metal pole and cricket bat, and bound with parcel tape, rope, and a plastic bag over her head. A post-mortem revealed 71 fresh injuries and at least 25 broken bones.
In August 2023, Sara was found dead in her bed at the family’s empty Woking home. On the day of her death, Sharif struck her twice in the stomach with the metal leg of a high chair as she lay unconscious, accusing her of pretending.
The trio fled to Pakistan the day after Sara’s death, taking five other children with them. Sharif later called UK police from Pakistan to report Sara’s death, leaving behind a note claiming he did not intend to kill her. After a month on the run, they returned to the UK and were arrested upon landing.
The court also sentenced Faisal Malik, 29, Sara’s uncle, to 16 years in prison for causing or allowing her death. The five surviving children remain in Pakistan.
Sara’s murder has sparked outrage over the failure of UK social services to protect her. Her father had withdrawn her from school four months before her death, despite prior allegations of abuse.
A teacher testified that Sara had worn a hijab to conceal injuries and refused to explain the marks on her body.
In March 2023, the school reported visible injuries on Sara’s face to social services, but no action was taken. A month later, Sharif informed the school she would be homeschooled.
Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza condemned the failure, stating: “Sara was failed in the starkest terms by the safety net of services around her.”
The tragedy has reignited concerns over systemic failings in child protection, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledging to strengthen safeguards for home-schooled children.
Under a proposed Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill introduced in Parliament, parents will lose the automatic right to remove children from school if authorities suspect they are at risk.
This case adds to a series of child cruelty incidents in the UK that have drawn public outcry, and repeated government promises to prevent similar tragedies.
