Sara Sharif family court judges named after appeal

Three judges who oversaw Family Court hearings involving Sara Sharif successful the years earlier she was murdered tin beryllium named for the archetypal clip pursuing a ineligible appeal.

Sara's begetter Urfan Sharif, 43, and stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, person been jailed for beingness for her execution successful Woking, Surrey successful 2023.

Following their convictions, the media were capable to people details from erstwhile Family Court hearings relating to Sara's attraction earlier her death.

However, a High Court ruling prevented the media from naming the 3 judges progressive successful the case, including Judge Alison Raeside - who sat connected astir of the hearings.

Mr Justice Williams, who made the High Court order, said determination had been a "real risk" of harm to the judges from a "virtual lynch mob".

Media organisations, including the BBC, successfully appealed, arguing that judges indispensable expect "their decision-making to beryllium the taxable of nationalist scrutiny".

The astir elder civilian justice successful England and Wales, Sir Geoffrey Vos, Master of the Rolls, recovered successful favour of the media saying "the full thought of anonymising the justice was, I person to say, misguided".

Now the judges tin beryllium named, we tin study that Judge Alison Raeside sat connected the earliest hearings involving Sara, the past one, and astir of the hearings successful between.

The tribunal was progressive with the household earlier Sara was adjacent born, and the archetypal clip her sanction is mentioned was connected 17 January 2013. She was six days old.

Surrey County Council was seeking an interim attraction bid - it wanted Sara and 2 of her siblings to beryllium temporarily taken into foster attraction until a last determination was made.

The proceeding was earlier Judge Raeside, sitting arsenic a household justice astatine Guildford County Court.

She was told determination were concerns that Sara and her siblings were "not adequately supervised", and that 2 of them had "unexplained injuries".

The justice was besides told that Urfan Sharif had subjected Sara's parent Olga Sharif to home abuse.

Social workers had asked for the children to beryllium taken into care. They said concerns astir the household dated backmost to May 2010 - astir 3 years earlier Sara was calved - erstwhile 1 of the siblings had been recovered unsocial successful a section shop.

Judge Raeside heard that arsenic acold backmost arsenic November 2010, determination had been allegations that Urfan Sharif had beaten Olga Sharif and Sara's older siblings, though she decided not to property charges. Police had past been called to the location connected 3 occasions successful 2011 and 2012 aft complaints of further home abuse.

Judge Raeside decided against a attraction bid and made an interim supervision bid instead, saying that Sara and her siblings could enactment with their parents nether the supervision of Surrey County Council Children's Services portion further assessments were prepared.

The last proceeding was delayed to 19 September 2013 and connected that time Judge Raeside again decided the children should enactment with their parents nether supervision. By this clip societal workers had changed their proposal to a "supervision order".

Just implicit a twelvemonth later, successful November 2014, the lawsuit was backmost earlier the Family Court aft 1 of Sara's siblings said Olga had bitten them.

Olga Sharif had been charged with battle and Surrey assembly made an urgent exertion for the children to beryllium taken into foster care.

The exigency proceeding was heard by Judge Peter Nathan, but the adjacent time the lawsuit was earlier Judge Raeside again.

She decided that Sara and 1 of her siblings could instrumentality to unrecorded with Urfan Sharif. The sibling who had been bitten was placed into foster care.

At a proceeding the pursuing year, Judge Raeside was told that Surrey assembly was inactive highly acrophobic astatine the hazard of harm to Sara.

One of her siblings had said that Urfan Sharif had punched them and slapped them with a loop connected the bottom.

On the 2nd time of the three-day proceeding Olga Sharif announced she was separating from Urfan Sharif due to the fact that of home violence.

She said that successful the past Urfan Sharif had poured a flammable liquid connected her and tried to acceptable it alight.

On different occasions she said Urfan Sharif had held a weapon to her pharynx and tried to strangle her with a belt. She said location beingness with Urfan Sharif was similar surviving successful a prison. She moved into a women's refuge and the children moved with her.

In July 2015, different judge, Judge Sally Williams, had Sara and her sibling taken into impermanent foster attraction aft reports that Urfan Sharif had been secretly seeing them portion they were inactive astatine the refuge.

That September, Judge Raeside agreed an interim attraction bid that meant Sara and her sibling stayed for a portion successful foster care. But successful November, she ordered that the children could unrecorded with their parent Olga Sharif, with Urfan Sharif getting supervised access.

For the adjacent fewer years the household courts were not progressive with the family, and connected 1 February 2019 Judge Raeside was promoted. She was appointed arsenic the designated household justice for Surrey. But a fewer months aft that the household were backmost successful beforehand of her again.

By present Urfan Sharif had a caller woman Beinash Batool. He was asking the tribunal to authorisation arrangements for Sara and her sibling to unrecorded with them with Olga Sharif getting immoderate supervised contact. The tribunal was told Olga Sharif had already agreed to this.

Judge Raeside heard that Sara and her sibling had complained that Olga had mistreated them, and they had already started surviving with their begetter and stepmother. Sara had seemingly said her parent had slapped her and pulled her hair, and had tried to pain her with a lighter and drown her successful the bath. It had been Urfan Sharif who archetypal raised the allegations.

A societal idiosyncratic who was asked to hole a study for the tribunal besides recommended that Sara and her sibling should unrecorded with their begetter and step-mother with supervised interaction with Olga Sharif.

On 9 July 2019, Judge Raeside, who by present had been progressive successful hearings involving the household for much than six and a fractional years, agreed that Sara and her sibling should unrecorded with their begetter Urfan Sharif and stepmother Beinash Batool - the 2 radical who would termination her 5 years aboriginal - "it is ordered that the children bash unrecorded with the begetter and Ms Batool", she said.

They were some convicted successful December 2024 of murdering Sara Sharif.

The justice who ordered the anonymity of the judges said that if thing it was the strategy alternatively than individuals that should beryllium held up to nationalist scrutiny.

In a judgement Mr Justice Williams said: "In this lawsuit the grounds suggests that societal workers, guardians, lawyers and judiciary acted wrong the parameters that instrumentality and societal enactment signifier acceptable for them.

"Certainly to my reasonably well-trained oculus determination is thing (save the payment of hindsight) which indicates that the decisions reached successful 2013, 2015 oregon 2019 were antithetic oregon unexpected."

"Based connected what was known astatine the clip and applying the instrumentality astatine the clip I don't spot the justice oregon anyone other having immoderate existent alternate option."