The woman who murdered her stepdaughter Sara Sharif has asked for the inquest into her death to be held in front of a jury.
Beinash Batool and Sara’s father Urfan Sharif were jailed for life in 2024 after the 10-year-old was found dead at the family home in Woking.
She had been violently abused in a “campaign of torture” lasting two years.
Bite marks, an iron burn and scalding from hot water were among dozens of injuries found on her body in a post-mortem examination.
On Monday, Batool’s lawyer Dr Anton van Dellen said jurors would help determine if Sara was failed by people who were scared of being accused of racism.
“This is just the type of judgement where a diverse local jury would provide a helpful perspective,” he added.
A review into the 10-year-old’s death found that services in Surrey failed to properly investigate why Sara started wearing a hijab – that covered her bruising – for “fear of causing offence”.
Neighbours also said they were worried about “being branded as being racist” if they reported concerns.
The eight-week inquest will also examine what state agencies knew, or ought to have known, about Sara’s safety in the run up to her murder.
Surrey County Council has previously apologised for what happened and said it had taken “robust action” to address earlier findings.
Sara’s father and stepmother both attended the hearing via video links from prison.
Senior coroner for Surrey, Richard Travers, said he would consider holding the inquest with a jury at the next hearing.
Batool said she wanted to give evidence at the inquest, which will not take place until April 2027.
Sara’s father did not have legal representation and at one point began criticising evidence his former partner wished to submit.
The coroner told him: This is not a re-trial, we are not going behind any findings that were made by the criminal court, I am not interested in the comments you have to make on any documents.”
Sara’s uncle, Faisal Malik, was found guilty of causing or allowing Sara’s death and jailed for 16 years.
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