Mother's sentence for toddler death not increased

A mother who shook her two-year-old daughter to death will not have her nine-year sentence increased after Court of Appeal judges ruled it was not "unduly lenient".

Morsal Mohammed Naim, 33, of Levenshulme, admitted manslaughter and child cruelty after her daughter, Omra Wali Jan, suffered a catastrophic brain injury and later died.

The Attorney General referred the sentence imposed at Manchester Crown Court in February. However, three senior judges rejected the challenge, despite saying they would have imposed a longer term.

Lord Justice Bean said the original sentence fell within the range available to the trial judge and described the circumstances of the case as "exceptional and extreme".

Warning: This article contains distressing details

Omra, who was aged two years and three months, had suffered repeated abuse before her death, including burns caused by the metal of a cigarette lighter.

Police were called to reports of an unresponsive child in Levenshulme on 30 November 2023.

Naim initially told paramedics her daughter had choked on a biscuit. Before pleading guilty, she claimed Omra had choked, fallen and hit her head on a baby bouncer and that she had shaken her in an attempt to revive her.

Doctors later found Omra had suffered a brain injury as well as other unexplained injuries, including burns, bruising and a fractured rib.

Her father, Firooz Wali Jan, 32, was jailed for six years and nine months after admitting child cruelty. He was not at home when Omra suffered the fatal injury.

The Court of Appeal heard the couple had moved to the UK from Afghanistan in 2021 and did not speak English.

Naim rarely left the flat and said she had been abused by Jan. Her barrister, Caroline Carberry KC, described her as socially isolated and in a "controlling marriage".

A psychologist found Naim's low cognitive abilities amounted to a learning disability and that she had difficulties with comprehension and memory.

Lord Justice Bean, sitting with Mr Justice Jay and Mrs Justice Heather Williams, said Naim had strong mitigation because of her personal circumstances and had led an "isolated and unhappy life".

The sentencing judge found Naim less able to protect her daughter because of her personal circumstances and "cultural restraints".

Ms Carberry said Naim had not inflicted the physical injuries Omra suffered before her death but had failed to protect her daughter from Jan.

The court heard Omra had not been registered with a GP and medical help had not been sought for her injuries.

Paul Jarvis KC, representing the Attorney General, argued the sentencing judge should have increased the overall term from its starting point to properly reflect both the manslaughter and child cruelty offences.

He said it had been wrong to reduce the overall sentence, even after taking account of Naim's cognitive difficulties and circumstances at home.

Ms Carberry argued the sentencing judge had properly taken account of what she described as "exceptional personal mitigation", including "cultural restraints and cognitive, linguistic problems", and had reached the correct sentence.

Lord Justice Bean said the sentencing judge had not been obliged to significantly increase the overall sentence to reflect the child cruelty conviction.

The three judges said they would have imposed a higher sentence themselves but ruled the nine-year term was not "unduly lenient" and declined to increase it.

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