LONDON: The father and stepmother of Sara Sharif, a 10-year-old girl who was found dead in her home in Britain, were on Wednesday convicted of her murder after a trial which heard harrowing details of her treatment before her killing.
Sharif was found dead in August 2023 at her home in Woking, a town southwest of London, after what prosecutors say was a campaign of “serious and repeated violence.”
The family fled to Pakistan immediately after Sara Sharif was killed, before they were arrested in September 2023 at London’s Gatwick airport after flying from Dubai.
Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones told jurors at the start of the trial that Sara had suffered a litany of injuries, including burns, broken bones and bite marks.
Sara’s father Urfan Sharif, 43, and his wife Beinash Batool, 30, stood trial at London’s Old Bailey court charged with her murder, which they denied.
The jury convicted Urfan Sharif and Batool of Sara’s murder. Sara’s uncle Faisal Malik, 29, was found not guilty of murder but guilty of causing or allowing Sara’s death.
Sharif and Batool will be sentenced on Dec. 17.
Emlyn Jones told jurors at the start of the trial that Urfan Sharif had called police and said: “It wasn’t my intention to kill her, but I beat her up too much.”
Sharif gave evidence and initially denied responsibility for Sara’s death. He accepted slapping Sara to discipline her, but denied beating her in a regular or sustained way.
But Urfan Sharif, under questioning from Batool’s lawyer Caroline Carberry, later said he took “full responsibility” for his daughter’s death.
Lawyers for Batool, who did not give evidence, said Urfan Sharif was violent and controlling and that she was scared of him.
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Father and stepmother convicted of Sara Sharif’s brutal murder after UK trial
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Father and stepmother convicted of Sara Sharif’s brutal murder after UK trial
- The jury convicted Urfan Sharif and Batool of Sara’s murder
- Sara’s uncle Faisal Malik, 29, was found not guilty of murder but guilty of causing or allowing Sara’s death
France condemns US visa ban imposed on ex-EU commissioner Breton
PARIS: The French government condemned on Wednesday a visa ban imposed by the Trump administration on Thierry Breton, a former European Union commissioner who helped drive the EU’s Digital Services Act, which has recently targeted top US tech companies.
“France strongly condemns the visa restriction imposed by the United States on Thierry Breton, former minister and European Commissioner, and four other European figures,” wrote French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on X on Wednesday.
The Trump administration on Tuesday imposed visa bans on Breton and other anti-disinformation campaigners which it says were involved in censoring US social media platforms, in the latest move in a campaign aimed at European rules that US officials say go beyond legitimate regulation.
Breton, a former French finance minister and the European commissioner for the internal market from 2019-2024, was the most high-profile individual targeted by these bans.
The United States’ Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers described — when outlining the bans on Tuesday — Breton as a ‘mastermind’ of the EU’s Digital Services Act, which was again defended by Barrot on Wednesday.
“The Digital Services Act (DSA) was democratically adopted in Europe to ensure that what is illegal offline is also illegal online. It has absolutely no extraterritorial reach and in no way affects the United States,” wrote Barrot on X.
Breton himself also condemned the visa ban against him.
“Is McCarthy’s witch hunt back? As a reminder: 90 percent of the European Parliament — our democratically elected body — and all 27 Member States unanimously voted the DSA. To our American friends: ‘Censorship isn’t where you think it is.’,” wrote Breton on X.
“France strongly condemns the visa restriction imposed by the United States on Thierry Breton, former minister and European Commissioner, and four other European figures,” wrote French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on X on Wednesday.
The Trump administration on Tuesday imposed visa bans on Breton and other anti-disinformation campaigners which it says were involved in censoring US social media platforms, in the latest move in a campaign aimed at European rules that US officials say go beyond legitimate regulation.
Breton, a former French finance minister and the European commissioner for the internal market from 2019-2024, was the most high-profile individual targeted by these bans.
The United States’ Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers described — when outlining the bans on Tuesday — Breton as a ‘mastermind’ of the EU’s Digital Services Act, which was again defended by Barrot on Wednesday.
“The Digital Services Act (DSA) was democratically adopted in Europe to ensure that what is illegal offline is also illegal online. It has absolutely no extraterritorial reach and in no way affects the United States,” wrote Barrot on X.
Breton himself also condemned the visa ban against him.
“Is McCarthy’s witch hunt back? As a reminder: 90 percent of the European Parliament — our democratically elected body — and all 27 Member States unanimously voted the DSA. To our American friends: ‘Censorship isn’t where you think it is.’,” wrote Breton on X.
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