Judges who allowed Sara Sharif to remain in her father’s custody to be named next week
Judges who allowed Sara Sharif to remain in her father’s custody to be named next week
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Court of Appeal rules identities of three family court judges can be revealed. Three judges that oversaw Sara Sharif’s family court cases before she was murdered by her father and stepmother, can be named, a court has ruled. The Court of Appeal has accepted an appeal after several media organisations challenged Mr Justice Williams’ controversial ruling that those who oversaw a string of family court proceedings before the 10-year-old’s death could not be identified.
![[Sara Sharif was 10 years -old when she died. (Surrey Police/PA)]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/16/23/6362bf54a7138c0d8a7c0e955345a091Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzM3MTU0MDYx-2.78456474.jpg)
Mr Justice Williams originally cited a “real risk” of harm to them from a “virtual lynch mob” as he said that to suggest family court officials should be held accountable for Sara’s death was “equivalent to holding the lookout on the Titanic responsible for its sinking”.
![[Urfan Sharif and Beinash Batool were convicted of Sara’s murder (Surrey Police/PA)]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/14/13/01769186089c06cb0db6797ea48d5af0Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzM2OTQ0OTUy-2.78198953.jpg)
Lawyers argued the ban would have a “corrosive impact on public confidence in the judiciary and wider justice system.”. A shocking trial saw Sara’s father, Urfan Sharif, 42, and his wife Beinash Batool 30, found guilty for her traumatic murder, after she suffered a catalogue of 70 injuries, including 25 fractures, human bite marks and burns. Her uncle, Faisal Malik, 29, was convicted for causing or allowing her death while living with them.
Details later emerged from previous family court proceedings, which revealed that Surrey County Council had repeatedly raised “significant concerns” about Sara’s safety. These allegations were never tested in court, despite three sets of family court proceedings.
