For the first time, the three judges overseeing Family Court hearings involving Sara Sharif before her murder can now be named, following a legal appeal.
Sara’s father, Irfan Sharif, 43, and stepmother, Beenish Batool, 30, were sentenced to life imprisonment for her murder in 2023. After their convictions, media outlets were allowed to report on previous Family Court hearings concerning Sara’s care.
According to a report by BBC on Sunday, a High Court ruling had initially prevented the identification of the three judges involved: Judge Alison Raeside, who presided over most of the hearings, Judge Peter Nathan, and Judge Sally Williams.
Mr. Justice Williams had initially cited a “real risk” of harm to the judges. However, after an appeal from media organizations, Sir Geoffrey Vos, Master of the Rolls, ruled in favor of allowing the judges to be named, stating anonymizing them was “misguided.”
Judge Raeside presided over Sara’s earliest hearings, with the Family Court’s involvement dating back to before Sara’s birth. The first mention of her name occurred on 17 January 2013 when she was six days old. Surrey County Council sought an interim care order for Sara and her siblings, citing concerns of inadequate supervision and unexplained injuries. It was also revealed that Urfan Sharif had subjected Sara’s mother, Olga, to domestic abuse.
Despite allegations against Urfan dating back to 2010, Judge Raeside opted for an interim supervision order, allowing the children to stay with their parents under the supervision of Surrey County Council. The final hearing was delayed until September 2013, when Judge Raeside again decided the children could remain under supervision.
In November 2014, following an allegation of assault by Olga on one of Sara’s siblings, the case returned to the Family Court. Judge Nathan presided over an emergency hearing, but Judge Raeside decided Sara and one sibling could return to Urfan’s care, while the other was placed in foster care.
The following year, during another hearing, it was revealed that Surrey County Council remained deeply concerned about Sara’s safety. Olga disclosed that she was separating from Urfan due to ongoing domestic violence, including incidents of Urfan attempting to set her on fire and strangle her. Olga and the children moved into a women’s refuge.
