Sara Sharif, a British-Pakistani teenager, and her parents’ jail sentences were upheld.

The parents and uncle who were sentenced to long prison sentences for the murder of a British-Pakistani daughter following years of maltreatment were upheld by a British court on Thursday.

As the horrifying assault that the 10-year-old child endured was made public in a London court, Urfan Sharif and Beinash Batool’s trial sparked outrage throughout the United Kingdom. Anger also arose over the fact that all of the authorities tasked with looking after the intelligent, vivacious child had failed her.

Urfan, 43, Beinash, 30, and Faisal Malik, 29, the girl’s uncle, all failed appeal attempts to have their sentences reduced.

Additionally, the court rejected the solicitor general’s office’s request to give Urfan a harsher entire life term.

In December, Sara’s stepmother was ordered to serve at least 33 years in prison, and her father was given a 40-year sentence for killing her. Her uncle was found guilty of causing or permitting her death and received a 16-year sentence.

In August 2023, Sara’s body was discovered in bed at the family home, covered with bite marks and bruises, fractured bones, and burns from boiling water and an electric iron.

Attorney Naeem Majid Mian attempted to shorten Sharif’s sentence by claiming that even though Sara had received “horrendous” treatment, it was not enough to justify his 40-year imprisonment.

“[The death] was not premeditated, and there was no intention to kill,” he continued.

However, documents filed with the court on behalf of the government’s top lawyer, the solicitor general, demanded that Sharif be given an indefinite sentence.

In a text message, attorney Tom Little stated, “It is argued that the judge erred in not imposing a whole life order on the offender.”

Sara’s stepmother’s attorney also told the court that the 33-year sentence was excessive and did not “justly reflect her role.”

The top court in England and Wales, Lady Chief Justice Sue Carr, dismissed Sharif’s appeal, stating: “We cannot see any arguable basis to challenge the conclusion of the trial judge.”

Passing sentence in December after the trial, Judge John Cavanagh said Sara had been subjected to “acts of extreme cruelty” but that Urfan and Batool had not shown “a shred of remorse”.

Because she was a girl, they had viewed Sara as “worthless” and “a skivvy.” And because she was not Batool’s natural child, the stepmother had failed to protect her, he said. “This poor child was battered with great force again and again.”

‘Most distressing case’

Sara’s stepmother, 30, was ordered to serve at least 33 years in prison, while her father, 43, received a sentence of 40 years.

Both were appealing their terms at the Royal Courts of Justice, along with Sara’s uncle, Faisal Malik, 29, who lived with the family and was sentenced to 16 years after being found guilty of causing or allowing her death.

Solicitor General Lucy Rigby appealed the sentence imposed on Urfan, maintaining it was “unduly lenient”.

A post-mortem examination of Sara’s body revealed she had 71 fresh injuries and at least 25 broken bones.

She had been beaten with a metal pole and cricket bat and “trussed up” with a “grotesque combination of parcel tape, a rope and a plastic bag” over her head.

A hole was cut in the bag so she could breathe, and she was left to soil herself in nappies as she was prevented from using the bathroom.

Police called the case “one of the most difficult and distressing” that they had ever had to deal with.

The day after Sara died, the three adults fled their home in Woking, southwest of London, and flew to Pakistan with five other children.

Her father, a taxi-driver, left behind a handwritten note saying he had not meant to kill his daughter. After a month on the run, the three returned to the UK and were arrested after landing. The five other children remain in Pakistan.

There has been anger in the UK that Sara’s brutal treatment was missed by social services after her father withdrew her from school four months before she died.

Urfan and his first wife, Olga, were well-known to social services.

In 2019, a judge decided to award the care of Sara and her older brother to Urfan, despite his history of abuse.

The school had raised the alarm about Sara’s case three times, notably after she arrived in class wearing a hijab she used to try to cover marks on her body that she refused to explain.

Since December, the government has moved to tighten up the rules on home-schooling.

Sara’s body was repatriated to Poland, where her mother is from, and where a funeral was organised.