Police are investigating reports that the father of the schoolgirl Sara Sharif had his throat cut in an assault by fellow inmates while in prison for her murder.
Urfan Sharif, 43, is said to have been attacked in Belmarsh prison, south London, by two men who rushed into his cell with a weapon made from a tuna tin lid, according to the Sun. The assault is said to have happened on New Year’s Day and caused injuries to his neck and face that are understood to have been treated in prison.
The Metropolitan police said in a statement they were investigating an allegation of assault at Belmarsh.
Sharif was sentenced to life imprisonment last month, along with Sara’s stepmother, Beinash Batool, 30. The pair were convicted at the Old Bailey of killing 10-year-old Sara at their home in Woking, Surrey.
Sentencing them, the judge, Mr Justice Cavanagh, described their campaign of abuse as “torture” and condemned them for not showing “a shred of remorse”.
A Met police spokesperson said: “Police are investigating an allegation that a prisoner was assaulted at HMP Belmarsh on 1 January. The victim, a 43-year-old man, suffered non-life threatening injuries.”
A source told the Sun that Sharif “was sliced up badly in his cell by two others who rushed in. It was planned and they used a makeshift weapon — made from the lid of a tin of tuna.” According to the newspaper he was “lucky to survive” and received stitches.
The attack happened only weeks into Sharif’s 40-year sentence.
As a category A jail, Belmarsh contains some of Britain’s most notorious and dangerous criminals.
Sara was found dead in a bunkbed at the family home in Surrey on 10 August 2023. The couple had killed her two days earlier and fled to Pakistan. A postmortem examination found she had 71 external injuries, including bruises, burns and human bite marks. She also had at least 25 fractures, including 11 to her spine.
A prison service spokesperson said: “Police are investigating an assault on a prisoner at HMP Belmarsh on 1 January. It would be inappropriate to comment further while they investigate.”
Source: theguardian.com
