The father, step mother and uncle of 10 year old Sara Sharif have been charged with murder.
Sara’s father, Urfan Sharif, 41, his partner Beinash Batool, 29, and Urfan’s brother Faisal Malik, 28, all appeared at Guildford Magistrates’ Court yesterday charged with her murder and causing or allowing the death of a child.
Sara’s body was found at her home address in Woking on August 10. A post-mortem examination found she had suffered “multiple and extensive injuries” over a “sustained and extended” period of time.
All three have been remanded in custody to appear at The Central Criminal Court in London on September 19.
The three suspects were arrested on Thursday evening, at around 7.45pm, at Gatwick Airport on suspicion of murder after disembarking a flight from Dubai.
Sara’s mother has been informed of this latest update and is being supported by specialist officers.
Surrey Police said: “Our thoughts remain with her and those affected by Sara’s death at this very difficult time. This has been an extremely fast-moving, challenging and complex enquiry and we remain absolutely committed to conducting a thorough investigation into Sara’s death. We will not be commenting any further at this point and will provide further updates as and when we are able to.”
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Urfan Sharif, Beinash Batool and Faisal Malik had been the subject of an international manhunt. The three had flown to Pakistan from the UK a day before Sara’s body was discovered.
Surrey Police have also been working to secure the safe return of Sara’s five siblings from Pakistan after a court ruled the children would be temporarily moved to a government childcare facility. All five children travelled with the three adults to Pakistan on August 9.
The force said it had been working with Surrey County Council and international authorities after the Pakistani court made the ruling. It remains unclear where the children will ultimately be sent or for how long they may be kept in the facility.
The group of children were found by police on Monday evening at the home of Sara’s grandfather, Muhammad Sharif, in the northeastern city of Jhelum.
Last week, Ms Batool spoke publicly for the first time since the little girl was found dead.
In a clip of the footage posted online, Ms Batool described Sara’s death as “an incident” and said she and her husband were willing to co-operate with UK authorities over the case.
Sara’s mother Olga Sharif gave an interview to the Polish TV in which she spoke of the harrowing experience of going to view her daughter’s body.
She said: “One of her cheeks was swollen and the other side was bruised. Even now, when I close my eyes I can see what my baby looked like.”
Officers continue to appeal for information about Sara’s life and would like to speak to anyone who knew her.
If you have any information which could assist please contact police via their information portal or, if you would like to remain anonymous, call independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.
