Inside ‘hellhole’ prison where Sara Sharif’s infamous dad was brutally attacked

One of Britain’s most wicked men had his “neck sliced with a jagged tuna tin lid” in a savage prison ambush.

Urfan Sharif, 43, father of Sara Sharif, was reportedly targeted by two inmates inside HMP Belmarsh on New Year’s Day.

The attack occurred in his cell just weeks after he received a life sentence for the murder of his ten-year-old daughter. His injuries were reported as “non life-threatening”, and a source told The Sun: “He was lucky to survive, has had to have stitches and will have scars as a permanent reminder of the attack.”

Inside Belmash 

The gruesome assault took place within one of the nation’s most infamous prisons where both inmates and wardens expect the unexpected.

Belmarsh, located in South London, opened in 1991 and can accommodate up to 900 inmates. It was once referred to as “Britain’s Guantanamo Bay” due to its history of holding suspected terrorists.

Belmarsh is now notorious for housing dangerous criminals including Ian Huntley – who was first sent there after murdering schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman. Disgraced politician Jeffrey Archer once described it as a “hellhole”.

Past and present inmates include Lee Rigby’s killer Michael Adebowale, serial rapist cop David Carrick, and other criminals such as serial killer Levi Bellfield, black cab rapist John Worboys and Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs.

In a chilling account to ITV News in December 2022, a staff member who had only been on the job for three months shared: “I’ve responded to two violent incidents so far with prisoners lashing out, one member of staff was punched. You don’t know what you’re running into, and that unknown is really scary.

“It’s nerve-racking just in terms of like it’s actually happening now, like this isn’t the training anymore, this is real life, but it’s really rewarding too.”

Grave statistics from 2023 painted a dire picture, revealing the facility suffered from rampant “juggins” – assaults involving boiling water.

Meanwhile, an investigation by the Metro through a Freedom of Information request highlighted more than 200 alarming occurrences between November 2021 and October 2022, unmasking makeshift blades and choking attempts with bedsheets.

Ross Kemp, upon reflecting on his harrowing visit for his documentary, noted: “Even with the strictest regime I have seen, prison officers are just as wary of being attacked as inmates. And gang elements remain strong. There are 120 gangs represented among the inmates.”

Notorious moments 

Amongs the facility’s notorious events, insights were shared with curious viewers during the Channel 5 documentary ‘HMP Belmarsh: Maximum Security’. Babar Ahman, formerly detained at the prison for eight years, recounted witnessing an officer’s brutal assault with tuna cans.

He said: “Occasionally you will get a prison officer who just wants to be an idiot. This officer would do something like taking an extra milk carton, or you’re not really allowed to have that one, or taking an extra pillow, taking an extra blanket. So a group of prisoners, they decided to teach him a lesson. They grabbed the officer, they took him inside the cell.

“They had tuna cans, which they had put inside socks and they just battered him. For about 10 minutes they just battered him all over the place.

Convicted murderer Kevin Lane also recounted incidents of attacks on officers, saying: “I went on escort one day, and some threats were made against me by a prison officer threatening to kill me.

“I said, ‘take these cuffs off and we’ll chat about it’. The cuffs came off during the search procedure, he wants me to stand there like a performing clown… I’ve taken my clothes off over ten times that day. It went off, I ended up knocking him spark out.”

Urfan Sharif 

Following Urfan Sharif’s alleged attack incident, the Prison Service commented: “Police are investigating an assault on a prisoner at HMP Belmarsh on January 1.

“It would be inappropriate to comment while they investigate.”

Sharif was given a 40-year minimum sentence before being eligible for parole. Additionally, Sara’s stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, and the girl’s uncle Faisal Malik, 29, were also imprisoned.

A post-mortem examination revealed that Sara had sustained 25 fractures and 71 external injuries, including bite marks and burns from an iron. Her father was convicted of murder, while Batool received a minimum sentence of 33 years after also being found guilty of the same charge.

Malik, who resided with the despicable pair, was sentenced to 16 years in prison for allowing the death of a child.