In a distressing trial at the Old Bailey, a video showing the father of 10-year-old Sara Sharif slapping her has been presented to jurors, revealing disturbing details of potential child abuse. Urfan Sharif, 42, along with his wife Beinash Batool, 30, and uncle Faisal Malik, 29, are on trial for murder and causing or allowing Sara’s death.
The home video, filmed in July 2022 just two days after a baby’s birth, shows Sharif sitting on a bed with Sara, who already has a mark on her cheek. In the footage, he slaps her multiple times, with Sara continuing to smile until eventually saying “Hey!” Sharif smiled while the video was played in court and denied that his actions constituted slapping, claiming he was saying “coochie, coochie, coochie” playfully.
Sara’s body was discovered in a bunkbed at her home in Woking, Surrey, on 10 August 2023. Previous court testimony revealed she had endured over two years of abuse, including being hooded, burned, bitten, and beaten.
During cross-examination, multiple allegations were presented against Sharif. These included claims that he falsely imprisoned an 18-year-old woman, hit his first wife, made her mouth bleed, and threatened to kill her. Sharif denied all these allegations.
The court heard that in 2019, Sara was initially living with her mother, Olga Sharif. She made serious allegations of neglect, claiming her mother was smoking cannabis, not feeding her, leaving her alone with another child, and burning her with a lighter. These allegations led to a court order placing Sara with her father and stepmother.
Sharif’s relationship with Beinash Batool began when he was 32 or 33 and she was 20, initially described as a casual relationship. Batool’s lawyer described her as a “vulnerable young woman” isolated from her family. Sharif disputed this characterization, calling her a “psycho” and denying allegations of controlling behavior.
The Guildford Family Court had previously ordered Sharif to attend a Domestic Violence Perpetrator Programme, which he partially completed, attending 10 out of 16 sessions.
Notably, during supervised contact when Sara was a toddler, social worker notes indicated she would shout at her father to “go away”. Sharif contested these notes, claiming she was not even talking at that time.
Interestingly, Sharif acknowledged that Sara seemed to love Beinash more than him, responding “That’s right” when asked about this during questioning.
The trial, which continues, represents a deeply troubling case of potential child abuse and murder, with serious allegations of long-term mistreatment against a young child.
