The father and stepmother of Sara Sharif have failed in their Court of Appeal bids to reduce their life sentences for the 10-year-old’s murder.
Urfan Sharif and Beinash Batool were seeking to challenge their minimum terms of 40 years and 33 years respectively which they received last December.
Sara’s uncle, Faisal Malik, also lost his appeal against a 16-year sentence for causing or allowing her death.
In a televised sentencing at the Old Bailey in December, Justice Cavanagh delivered a damning assessment of the case.
PICTURED: Sara Sharif’s stepmother Beinash Batool, uncle Faisal Malik and father Urfan Sharif appearing for sentencing for the 10-year-old’s death
PA
He 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 Urfan Sharif.
All three defendants brought challenges to their sentences at the Court of Appeal on Thursday.
The Solicitor General simultaneously asked judges to increase Urfan’s “unduly lenient” sentence.
In a decisive ruling on Thursday, the Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, sitting with Justice Soole and Justice Goose, declined to alter any of the sentences.
Dismissing Sharif’s appeal, Baroness Carr stated: “We can see no arguable basis to challenge the conclusion of the trial judge.”
SARA SHARIF’S KILLERS FACE JUSTICE – AS IT HAPPENED:
Urfan Sharif, Beinash Batool and Faisal Malik all lost their appeals today
PA
She also rejected the call for a whole life order for Sharif, describing it as a sentence of “last resort”.
“We are not persuaded that anything less than a whole life order was unduly lenient,” she added.
During the hearing, Tom Little KC, representing the Solicitor General, argued that Sara’s murder was of “exceptionally high seriousness” warranting a whole life order for Urfan Sharif.
“This was a truly awful case of a murder of a child,” he told the court, adding that a whole life order was “the only appropriate sentence”.
Naeem Mian KC, for Sharif, countered: “We say, without hesitation, this is not one of those exceptional cases.”
Sara was found dead in a bunkbed at the family home in Woking, Surrey, in August 2023.
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‘We can see no arguable basis to challenge the conclusion of the trial judge,’ Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr said
POOL
The 10-year-old had suffered 71 recent injuries at the time of her death.
These included 25 broken bones, iron burns on her bottom, scalding marks to her feet, and human bites, appeal judges were told.
“The violence meted out to Sara was premeditated and repeated again and again, even if the murder itself was not,” Little told the court.
Caroline Carberry KC, representing Batool, argued her sentence was excessive and failed to reflect her secondary role.
The barrister highlighted Batool’s “significant mitigation” in the case.
“Nothing we say today on behalf of Beinash Batool detracts from the horror of Sara’s treatment,” she told the court.
The appeals court, however, gave “very great weight” to the trial judge’s assessment, with Baroness Carr noting he was “in the very best position” to determine appropriate sentences.
