Appeal won to name Sara Sharif’s family court judgeson January 24, 2025 at 10:47 am

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A decision not to name judges in historical family court cases about Sara’s care has been appealed.

Appeal won to name Sara Sharif’s family court judges

Just now

Christian Fuller

BBC News, South East
Surrey Police Sara Sharif wearing a hijab. She is smiling and looking directly at the camera.Surrey Police

Three judges who oversaw family court proceedings related to the care of Sara Sharif before she was murdered will be named next week, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

Mr Justice Williams ruled in December that the media could not name the judges involved in the historical family court cases related to the 10-year-old, as well as social workers and guardians, due to a “real risk” of harm from a “virtual lynch mob”.

However, several media organisations, including the BBC, have successfully appealed against the decision, previously telling a hearing that the judges should be named in the interests of transparency.

Sara’s father Urfan Sharif, 43, and stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, were jailed for life for her murder in Woking in 2023.

At a ruling on Friday, the Court of Appeal ruled that the three unnamed judges could be identified in seven days.

Sir Geoffrey Vos said: “In the circumstances of this case, the judge had no jurisdiction to anonymise the historic judges either on 9 December 2024 or thereafter.

“He was wrong to do so.”

Following the convictions at the Old Bailey in December last year, details from previous family court proceedings could be published relating to Sara’s care before her death.

This included that Surrey County Council (SCC) repeatedly raised “significant concerns” about the children returning to Sharif, “given the history of allegations of physical abuse of the children and domestic abuse with Mr Sharif as the perpetrator”.

Surrey Police Mugshots of Sara's father Urfan Sharif and stepmother Beinash Batool.Surrey Police

Documents released to the media showed that SCC first had contact with Sharif and Sara’s mother, Olga Sharif, in 2010 – more than two years before Sara was born – having received “referrals indicative of neglect” relating to her two older siblings.

The authority began care proceedings concerning the siblings in January 2013, involving Sara within a week of her birth.

Between 2013 and 2015, several allegations of abuse were made that were never tested in court.

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