Sentence review bid made for Sara Sharif’s father

The Solicitor General has decided to appeal against the sentence passed on Sara Sharif’s father as “unduly lenient.”

Urfan Sharif, 43, was sentenced to life in prison following a trial at the Old Bailey last year – with a minimum of 40 years behind bars before he can be considered for parole.

But the solicitor general, Lucy Rigby, has referred Sharif’s sentence to the Court of Appeal.

A spokesperson for the Attorney General’s office said: “It is now for the court to decide whether to increase the sentence.”

Sara was hooded, burned and beaten during more than two years of abuse before her body was found at the family home in Woking, Surrey, in 2023.

Her stepmother, Beinash Batool, was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 33 years before she can be considered for parole.

The BBC understands that Batool’s sentence will not be sent to the Court of Appeal.

On Friday, it emerged that Sharif and Batool are seeking permission to appeal against their minimum sentences.

Sara’s uncle, Faisal Malik, 29, was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment for causing or allowing her death.

He has is also seeking permission to appeal against his sentence.

No court date has yet been set for the appeals.

The trial heard how a post-mortem examination found Sara had suffered injuries including six probable human bite marks, an iron burn and scalding from hot water before she died on 8 August last year.

Next to Sara’s body, which was found by police in a bunkbed, was a note in her father’s handwriting which read: “Whoever see this note, it’s me Urfan Sharif who killed my daughter by beating.”

Sharif initially claimed that Batool was responsible for Sara’s death, and told the jury he had made a false confession in the note and a subsequent phone call in order to protect his wife.

However, in a dramatic U-turn under cross-examination, Sharif later accepted “full responsibility” for his daughter’s death.

Sara had more than 70 new external injuries when her body was found by police, including 11 fractures to her spine and signs of a traumatic brain injury.

Sharif, Batool and Malik fled to Islamabad, Pakistan, with Sara’s five siblings on 9 August 2023, the day before her body was found.

From Pakistan, Sharif called police in England and told the operator that he “legally punished” Sara and she died.