"The degree of cruelty involved is almost inconceivable."
Sara Sharif’s father and stepmother have received life sentences for the 10-year-old’s murder.
The schoolgirl’s death came after years of abuse, which the judge, Mr Justice Cavanagh, described as “torture”.
Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC said Sara was physically abused from at least the age of six with various weapons, including a cricket bat, an improvised metal truncheon made from the broken leg of a high chair and a domestic iron.
The Old Bailey heard Sara suffered at least 70 separate injuries.
Urfan Sharif and Beinash Batool were found guilty of Sara’s murder after an eight-week trial.
Sara’s uncle Faisal Malik, who was living with the family at the time, was found not guilty of murder but was convicted of causing or allowing her death.
The judge condemned the defendants for not showing “a shred of remorse”.
Describing the abuse as “nothing short of gruesome”, the judge said:
“The degree of cruelty involved is almost inconceivable.
“You Beinash Batool did not stand in Urfan Sharif’s way. You encouraged Urfan Sharif in his assaults.”
Sara Sharif’s mother Olga Domin joined the sentencing hearing remotely and in a victim impact statement, she said:
“Sara was always smiling. She had her own unique character.
“The only thing I had left to give to my daughter was to give her a beautiful Catholic funeral that she deserves.
“She is now an angel who looks down on us from heaven, she is no longer experiencing violence. To this day I can’t understand how someone can be such a sadist to a child.
“I hoped that when she grew up we would meet, but now that won’t happen, she left us too soon.”
Addressing the defendants, Ms Domin said:
“You are sadists, although even this word is not enough for you. I would say you are executioners.”
Mr Emlyn Jones argued that the case “bristles with aggravating features”, including the fact that Sara had suffered an “unimaginable level of pain” for a long period before her death.
Sara Sharif’s body was found in a bed at the family home in Surrey on August 10, 2023.
The couple had killed her two days earlier and fled to Pakistan, from where Sharif called police to say he had beaten her up “too much” for being naughty.
Police found a handwritten “confession” near her body that read:
“I swear to God that my intention was not to kill her. But I lost it.”
Mr Emlyn Jones added:
“This is a case involving a gross breach of trust because the deceased was the defendant’s own little child.
“In their care, she suffered this violence in her own home where she ought to have been entitled to feel safe and loved and cared for.”
Sharif was sentenced to life, with a minimum term of 40 years. Batool must serve a minimum of 33 years.
Malik was jailed for 16 years.
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