Sara Sharif’s killer dad could have ‘unduly lenient’ prison sentence extended

The Solicitor General has called child murderer Urfan Sharif’s prison sentence ‘unduly lenient’ and requested a review.

Sharif was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 40 years in December for the murder of his 10-year-old daughter Sara, who suffered ‘unimaginable pain, misery and anxiety’ in the lead-up to her death.

Sara was found dead in a bunk bed in her home in Woking, Surrey, in August 2023 after Sharif, 42, called police from Pakistan to confess he had ‘beaten her too much’.

She had suffered 71 ‘fresh’ injuries, including 25 broken bones, iron burns on her bottom, scalding marks to her feet, and human bites – but this was ‘the culmination of years of neglect, frequent assaults and what can only be described as torture’, Mr Justice Cavanagh said during sentencing.

Now the Solicitor General has referred Sharif’s sentence to the Court of Appeal on the grounds that it was ‘unduly lenient’.

It comes as Sharif, as well as Sara’s stepmother Beinash Batool and uncle Faisal Malik, have all made an application to the Court of Appeal with a view to appeal against their sentences.

Batool, 30, was also convicted of murdering Sara and was jailed for life with a minimum term of 33 years, while 29-year-old Malik was jailed for 16 years for causing or allowing the death of a child.

A spokesperson for the Attorney General’s office said: ‘The Solicitor General Lucy Rigby MP has referred Urfan Sharif’s sentence to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.

‘It is now for the court to decide whether to increase the sentence.’

Since his imprisonment, Sharif was attacked by two fellow inmates on New Year’s Day, who reportedly sliced his throat with the lid of a tuna can.

During Sharif’s sentencing at the Old Bailey, Mr Justice Cavanagh told him: ‘You treated her in such a way because you considered it your right to impose harsh discipline on her.

‘Sara was a brave, feisty and spirited child. She was not submissive as you wanted her to be. She stood up to you.

‘I have no doubt that your ego and sense of self-importance was boosted by the power you wielded over her and the rest of the family.’

He bluntly told Batool she ‘did not care about Sara enough to save her’, while telling Malik his claims he was too busy on his phone to notice what was going on were ‘preposterous’.

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