Summary

Media caption,

Sara Sharif seen playing guitar in video

  1. Judge says they only came back to UK due to 'family pressure'published at 12:35 Greenwich Mean Time

    Justice Cavanagh turns to the phone call that father Sharif made to Surrey Police from Pakistan, when he said he had killed his daughter.

    He says both Sharif and Batool took part in a "bizarre" video press statement, in which they referred only briefly to Sara's death, saying it was an "incident", and then went on to complain of the pressure authorities in Pakistan were putting on Sharif's family.

    Cavanagh says eventually three of them returned to the UK, but adds he does not believe they came back willingly, but under family pressure.

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  2. You were all engaged in the cover-up, judge tells three defendantspublished at 12:34 Greenwich Mean Time

    Mr Justice Cavanagh now turns to the steps the defendants took after Sara's death to cover up what they had done "as best they could".

    The judge says he has no doubt they were all "engaged" in this.

    He lists the actions of washing Sara, changing her clothes and putting her in bed.

    He tells Malik there is "no doubt" he was involved, as his McDonalds uniform was found partly in and next to the bins, alongside other items.

    Sharif also removed the house's ring doorbell.

    Speaking to Sharif, the judge says he has done everything he could "to avoid punishment" despite a note left on Sara's body suggesting he would do otherwise.

  3. Judge's words are a powerful reminder of Sara's horrific sufferingpublished at 12:32 Greenwich Mean Time

    Helena Wilkinson
    Reporting from the Old Bailey

    The judge's words couldn't be more powerful, and a reminder of the horrific suffering Sara endured.

    Used to dealing with difficult cases, Justice Cavanagh describes the medical evidence in this case as "harrowing".

    The violent campaign of abuse, the judge says, is "hard to contemplate".

    He says judges must be careful not to overuse the word torture, but in this case it was no exaggeration to describe the abuse as that.

  4. 'Within minutes of murder you took steps to flee abroad'published at 12:32 Greenwich Mean Time

    No-one sought help for Sara as she died, Justice Cavanagh says.

    "Incredibly", he says, Sara's father Urfan Sharif beat her as a punishment for pretending to be ill.

    He and Batool then took steps to flee to Pakistan, he says - and the jury heard a recording of a phone call within an hour of Batool on the phone to a travel agent "speaking coolly and calmly".

    The judge adds that Sharif can be heard in the background urging her to book an earlier flight, and that the other children can also be heard playing.

    He reiterates that this is all within minutes of Sara's death.

  5. Defendants still not looking at judgepublished at 12:29 Greenwich Mean Time

    Daniel Sandford
    Reporting from the Old Bailey

    We are now nearly 40 minutes into the judge's comments.

    Still, the defendants remain staring at the floor.

  6. Sara's death was cumulative result of injuries - judgepublished at 12:28 Greenwich Mean Time

    The judge says at the time of her death Sara was undernourished and underweight.

    The court heard evidence the cause of death was due to multiple injuries and neglect.

    These injuries cumulatively caused her death, the judge says.

    Sara suffered a decline in the days before death, after being injured on the head, he adds.

  7. Father and stepmother 'jointly responsible' for tying Sara uppublished at 12:26 Greenwich Mean Time

    Warning: This post and others below contain distressing details

    Justice Cavanagh gives more graphic details of assaults against Sara.

    He says Sara was tied up in the last few weeks of her life, and that plastic bags were put on her head.

    He says Sara used nappies as she couldn't go to the toilet.

    Cavanagh says there is no doubt that Sharif and Batool were jointly responsible for tying Sara up.

  8. Judge says torture was 'almost unbelievable'published at 12:24 Greenwich Mean Time

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    Continuing to list Sara's injuries, the judge cites some that require "special mention" because they demonstrate the "almost unbelievable torture" she endured during the last weeks of her life.

    Among those listed was a fracture to a bone in Sara's neck that would have been sustained by "vigorous" strangulation.

    Other injuries included a "serious" brain injury from a few days before her death and open burn wounds, he says.

  9. 'This poor child was battered with great force again and again'published at 12:22 Greenwich Mean Time

    The judge adds that Sara's body was found with 25 separate fractures.

    He says the severity of these fractures are rare even in car crashes and would require great force.

    "This poor child was battered with great force again and again," he says.

  10. Sara's injuries were harrowing - judgepublished at 12:21 Greenwich Mean Time

    The judge describes the medical evidence in this case as "harrowing".

    He adds Sara suffered 71 separate fresh injuries in the last few days before her death.

    He says she was injured on her head, face, chest, abdomen and each of her limbs.

    There was also evidence she was tied up, beaten with a metal pole and Sharif admitted hitting her head with a phone.

  11. Judge says uncle should have got help for Sarapublished at 12:20 Greenwich Mean Time

    Justice Cavanagh goes on to say to Malik that he was not a child.

    "You were 28 years old and anyone, however much they were in awe of their brother, should have recognised what was happening to Sara was dangerous and wrong."

    Cavanagh says Malik could have sought help from officials.

    He adds that some of the assaults happened in front of other children.

  12. I have no doubt you were aware of abuse, judge tells unclepublished at 12:19 Greenwich Mean Time

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    The judge now turns to Malik - Sara's uncle - who came from Pakistan to undertake an undergraduate course.

    He says he has "no doubt whatsoever" that Malik was aware of what was happening to Sara - explaining the house and flat were "too small" and "overcrowded" to make any other conclusion.

    Justice Cavanagh continues to reference the number of injuries on Sara's body at the time of her death - demonstrating she was the victim of "many assaults"

    He calls it "inconceivable" that Malik would not have been around for any of them or did not see or hear anything.

  13. Defendants continue staring at floorpublished at 12:16 Greenwich Mean Time

    Daniel Sandford
    Reporting from the Old Bailey

    As the judge continues to talk through the facts of the case, all three defendants are still staring at the floor.

    The security officers in the dock and the interpreter are watching the judge, while the three people being sentenced are staring at the worn blue carpet in the courtroom.

  14. 'The trauma is hard to contemplate'published at 12:15 Greenwich Mean Time

    The judge, Justice Cavanagh, adds that the stress and trauma Sara experienced from the violent campaign of abuse is "hard to contemplate".

    He says "predictably and tragically" she was then punished for the physical responses she had to the abuse.

  15. Stepmother put make-up on Sara to cover bruises, says judgepublished at 12:14 Greenwich Mean Time

    The judge says the abuse began when Sara was six or seven.

    He says she never did anything that could justify that treatment.

    He adds Batool went along with the abuse and cared less because Sara was not her biological child.

    The judge continues Batool made no effort to stop the assaults and put make-up on Sara to cover bruises and agreed to take her out of school.

  16. Sara was brave and feisty - not submissive like you wanted, judge tells fatherpublished at 12:13 Greenwich Mean Time

    The judge, Justice John Cavanagh, continues to say Sara was deprived of an education because she was taken out of school.

    He says Sara was forced to wear a hijab and cover up her body, adding that this was not for religious reasons. Cavanagh notes that other women in the family did not cover up, and says in Sara's case this was to cover up bruises on her body.

    Cavanagh says Sara was a brave, feisty, and spirited child. He says she was not submissive as Sharif wanted her to be.

    "She stood up to you," he says, adding that Sharif's ego played a role over the physical power he had over her.

  17. 'Sara was treated as a skivvy in family'published at 12:11 Greenwich Mean Time

    The judge continues to say that it is "clear" that from a young age Sara was treated as a "skivvy" in the family.

    He cites examples including that from the age of six or seven she was made to do the washing and hang it up.

    He continues to say that from "time to time" Batool performed some acts of kindness towards her - but stresses that neither she nor Sharif had any concern for her "happiness or quality of life".

  18. Sara was singled out for abuse, says judgepublished at 12:10 Greenwich Mean Time

    The judge turns to the decision to take Sara out of school, which he says was due to the obvious visible signs of beating, that Sharif worried would alert the authorities.

    Batool did not stand in his way and did "nothing significant" to protect Sara, he says, and even assisted Sharif.

    He says it is clear that Sara was singled out amongst her siblings for this treatment and there is no evidence other children were subject to the same treatment.

    He says this is for two reasons - that Sara was not Batool's child, and that she was a girl.

  19. Judge says Sharif woke Sara up in night just to hurt herpublished at 12:08 Greenwich Mean Time

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    The judge says it was clear Urfan Sharif was beating Sara by 2019.

    He talks about details of her treatment, including standing her up against a wall and waking her in the night to physically punish her.

    He adds there were sinister videos of Sara being slapped while she was trying to cuddle her newborn sibling.

  20. Judge says he wants full scale of Sara's ordeal out in openpublished at 12:05 Greenwich Mean Time

    Justice Cavanagh continues by saying "it will take some time to describe the facts of the case", adding that he intends to do so in some detail.

    He says this is for two reasons - to explain the reasons for the sentences he is about to pass, and in tribute to Sara, so the full scale of the ordeal she was subjected to is out in the open.