Steven Sansom and Adam Watson have been charged with attempted murder after an attack on Urfan Sharif at Belmarsh, tying Sara Sharif’s case to a second criminal proceeding. Urfan Sharif, who was being held in the Category A jail in south-east London, suffered cuts to his face and needed medical treatment after the cell attack.
The Crown Prosecution Service said the charges relate to an incident at HMP Belmarsh in January 2025. Daren Streeter, the Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor in CPS London, said: “The Crown Prosecution Service has decided to charge Steven Sansom and Adam Watson with attempted murder in connection to an incident at HMP Belmarsh in January 2025.”
“Our prosecutors have worked closely with the Metropolitan Police to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to court and pursue criminal proceedings,” Streeter said. He also said: “We remind all concerned that proceedings against the defendants are active and they have the right to a fair trial.”
Belmarsh and the Sara Sharif case
Belmarsh houses some of the UK's most dangerous prisoners, and the attack on Sharif took place there after he had already been jailed for life for Sara Sharif’s murder at their home in Woking, Surrey. The prison assault adds another charge sheet to a case that already carried the most serious sentence available.
The Metropolitan Police had previously said it was probing an allegation that a prisoner was assaulted at Belmarsh, and officers said the 43-year-old suffered non life-threatening injuries. Prosecutors have now taken the case forward as attempted murder, creating a sharper legal test than the injury description alone might suggest.
CPS London court case
Streeter said: “It is vital that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information which could in anyway prejudice these proceedings.” That warning now places the focus on the courtroom, where the criminal case against Sansom and Watson will continue.
For readers following the Sara Sharif case, the practical next step is simple: the prison attack has moved from allegation to charge, and the evidence will now be tested in court alongside the wider record of Sharif’s imprisonment at HMP Belmarsh in January.
