The father and stepmother of Sara Sharif are seeking to appeal against the sentences they received for the 10-year-old’s murder.
Sara suffered a “daily living hell” as she was tortured to death over many months by Urfan Sharif, who was described in court as a psychopath and a “controlling, violent bully”.
Sharif, 43, was convicted of murder at the Old Bailey in London last month after an eight-week trial. His wife, Beinash Batool, 30, was also found guilty of murder. His brother, Faisal Malik, 29, was found guilty of causing or allowing Sara’s death.
Sharif was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 40 years, while Batool was handed a minimum term of 33 years. Malik was jailed for 16 years.
PA Media reported that all three had made an application to the court of appeal with a view to challenging their sentences.
Sara was found dead in a bunkbed at her home in Woking, Surrey, on 10 August 2023, after her father rang police from Pakistan to confess he had beaten her “too much”.
She had sustained 71 “fresh” injuries, including 25 broken bones, iron burns on her bottom, scalding marks to her feet and human bites.
Within hours of Sara’s death, Sharif and Batool had booked flights to Pakistan for the whole family, including her five siblings and half siblings.
The defendants returned to the UK on 13 September 2023, leaving the children behind, and were detained within minutes of arrival at Gatwick airport.
In a televised sentencing, Mr Justice Cavanagh said Sara’s death “was the culmination of years of neglect, frequent assaults and what can only be described as torture”, mainly at the hands of Sharif.
In separate proceedings, Mr Justice Williams ruled in December that the media could not name three judges who oversaw three sets of family court proceedings relating to the 10-year-old schoolgirl over concerns they would be subject to a “virtual lynch mob”.
This week, an appeal against this naming ban by several media organisations, including the Guardian, was heard. A judgment is expected in writing at a later date.
