London, United Kingdom
British-Pakistani girl Sara Sharif's father Urfan Sharif, and stepmother Beinash Batool have been jailed for life for murdering their 10-year-old daughter.
Sara was hooded, burned, and beaten during a "campaign of torture" for two years by her father, stepmother and uncle. Her body was found at the family home in Woking, Surrey, in 2023.
Justice Cavanagh on Tuesday (Dec 17) described the treatment of Sara as "torture" and condemned the defendants for not showing a "shred of remorse".
Sara's father has been sentenced to a minimum of 40 years in prison for murder, her stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, received a minimum of 33 years, and her uncle Faisal Malik received 16 years of prison sentence for causing or allowing her death.
Also read: Sara Sharif case: Father, stepmother and uncle charged with 10-year-old’s murder in UK
Sara's mother, Olga Domin, in a statement read out in court, called the murderers "sadists", adding, "Although even this word is not enough for you. I would say you are executioners."
Further paying tribute to her daughter, she said, "She is now an angel who looks down on us from heaven. She is no longer experiencing violence. I hoped that when she grew up we would meet, but now that won't happen."
Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC said that the 10-year-old girl was subjected to serious violence from at least the age of six with a variety of weapons, including a cricket bat, an improvised metal truncheon made from the broken leg of a high chair, and a domestic iron.
Watch | Gravitas: 10-year-old Sara Sharif's father, stepmother & uncle charged with murder
“This is a case involving a gross breach of trust because the deceased was the defendant’s own little child. In their care, she suffered this violence in her own home, where she ought to have been entitled to feel safe, loved, and cared for," she said.
Meanwhile, Sara's uncle was found not guilty of murder but was convicted of causing or allowing her death.
As the judge continued to speak in the court, his voice shook while describing some of the injuries suffered by Sara, calling the abuse as "nothing short of gruesome".
Sara was found dead in her family home in Surrey on August 10 last year. Her father and stepmother killed her two days earlier and fled to Pakistan.
Further, the prison term will take into account time served on remand, with a minimum term of 38 years and 272 days for Sharif and 31 years and 272 days for Batool.
(With inputs from agencies)