Name Murder Yaseen | ||
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Yaseen Ege was a seven-year-old Asian Muslim boy killed by his mother, Sara Ege, at their home in Cardiff, in the United Kingdom, in July 2010, for failing to memorise the Quran. In the months preceding his death, Yaseen was routinely beaten. On the day he died, Yaseen had severe abdominal injuries and multiple fractures. Sara burnt her son's body in an attempt to destroy the evidence. Police arrested Sara; she was convicted of murder and received a life sentence.
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Prolonged abuse
Yaseen was taught the Koran before and after school due to his parents' desires that he become a hafiz. His mother said that Yaseen's memorization would have increased the family's standing in the local community. She became frustrated with her son's inability to memorise the Koran.
For several months before his death, Yaseen was repeatedly beaten, and he suffered internal injuries. Sara Ege told police officers, "I was getting more and more frustrated. If he didn’t read it properly I would be very angry – I would hit him." Yassen was allegedly locked in a shed and tied to a door as punishment for failing at his studies. After Yaseen started school, teachers became concerned about his well-being on a few occasions. One teacher observed that Yaseen's handwriting was untidy and that he was using his left hand rather than his right one. Yaseen explained that his hand hurt because his mother had struck him with a ruler.
Death
On the day of his death, Sara kept her son at home from school to focus on memorizing the Koran. She was angry at his lack of progress and attacked him. Yaseen collapsed but continued to murmur extracts of the Koran. His mother undressed him, gave him some milk, and then dragged him to his bedroom. His mother said he was repeatedly muttering the same verse and she thought he was just tired and left him. She returned to the room a few minutes later and found Yaseen convulsing on the floor before dying soon after.
Sara used barbecue gel to burn her son's body to destroy the evidence and set fire to the family home. It was initially thought that Yaseen had died in the blaze but investigations proved he had died several hours earlier. Pathologists discovered that Yaseen had broken ribs, a fractured arm and a fractured finger among other injuries, and lighter fuel was found on Sara's clothing.
Trial
Sara said that she had hit Yaseen "with a stick on his back like a dog" but also said that her husband, Yousef, was a violent person who had beaten her and her son and was responsible for Yaseen's death. She said her husband had threatened to kill her if she did not accept responsibility. Her husband was cleared of allowing his son’s death by failing to act to prevent the abuse. Sara was found guilty of murder and perverting the course of justice at Cardiff Crown Court and was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 17 years.
Domestic violence reports
The case review by Cardiff's safeguarding children board found that in 2003, concerns regarding domestic violence were raised to a women's safety unit, though these were not reported to the police or children's services. Further reports of domestic violence were made in 2007. Although that several agencies had tried to support the mother, those efforts were "not part of a co-ordinated plan." The review made a number of recommendations that were accepted by the Cardiff safeguarding children board.