In a shocking case that horrified the UK, a UK court will sentence the father and stepmother of a British-Pakistani girl who died from brutal and sustained abuse on Tuesday.
In August 2023, Sara Sharif was discovered dead in her bed at the age of ten. Her body was covered in burn scars, shattered bones, and bites and bruises.
She had at least 25 shattered bones and over 100 injuries, according to a post-mortem examination.
In the weeks prior to her death, she was restrained by packing tape, and her father, Urfan Sharif, 43, acknowledged hitting her with a cricket bat. Additionally, he broke the hyoid bone in her neck by strangling her with his bare hands.
Following a 10-week trial at London’s Old Bailey, Urfan Sharif and Sara’s 30-year-old stepmother, Beinash Batool, were convicted guilty last week.
Faisal Malik, her 29-year-old uncle, was convicted of causing or permitting her death.
Sara’s death occurred the day after the three parents and five young children flew to Pakistan from their home in Woking, southwest of London.
On the way to the airport, her father, a cab driver, called the police to report Sara’s death. He also left a handwritten letter stating that he had not intended to kill his daughter, but “I lost it.”
“Horrible”
The three went on the run for a month before returning to the UK, where they were apprehended upon landing. The other five kids are still in Pakistan.
In the UK, there has been indignation over social services’ failure to notice Sara’s cruel treatment when her father pulled her out of school four months before her death.
Her instructor described to the court how she had worn a headscarf to class in an attempt to hide body marks that she would not disclose.
The jury was informed that, despite accusations of abuse against his ex-wife, Sharif had been granted custody of Sara in 2019 following his divorce from his first wife. Sara also spent time in foster care.
After noticing injuries on her face in March 2023, Sara’s school reported the matter to child services, who looked into it but did nothing.
After the family relocated in April 2023, Urfan Sharif informed the school that Sara would be homeschooled going forward.
Following the conviction, Libby Clark of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) stated, “We cannot fathom the heinous and cruel treatment that Sara received in the final weeks of her brief life.”
“Failed.”
“There is no question that the safety net of services surrounding Sara was a complete failure,” stated Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza.
“She was well-known to social services even before she was born, but she completely disappeared from their awareness by the time of her death, making her unrecognizable to them all.”
Even before Sara was born, social services were aware of Sharif and his first wife, Olga, a Polish lady who was her birth mother.
After being abused, she and two older children were taken into foster care before being given back to their mother after the couple divorced.
Despite his history of abuse, a judge in 2019 granted Urfan Sharif custody of Sara and an older brother.
Sara was lying unconscious on her stepmother’s lap the day she passed away when Urfan Sharif struck her twice in the stomach with the metal leg of a high chair, accusing the child of acting.
Faisal Malik and Beinash Batool did not speak at the trial and have not expressed regret for what they committed.
Her case is the most recent in a series of child abuse instances that have incited public disgust and prompted officials to repeatedly promise to “learn lessons” and stop other disasters.
Following the decision on Wednesday, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged to strengthen protections for homeschooled children.
Other Articles
No Comment! Be the first one.