Life jail for son's murder over Koran studies

Ege collapsed as the sentence was read out at Cardiff Crown Court and had to be helped from the dock.

She was also found guilty of perverting the course of justice.

Her husband Yousuf Ege, a taxi driver, was cleared of allowing the death of a child by failing to protect him.

Sara Ege had pleaded not guilty to murder and claimed her husband was responsible for Yaseen's death. She had been praised during her trial as a "brilliant mother" to Yaseen.

Mr Justice Wyn Williams said: "I am satisfied that it was his failure to learn the Koran that day that resulted in the beating that caused his death."

It was initially thought Yaseen had died in a fire, but tests later revealed he had died hours earlier.

In a complicated series of claims and counter-claims she had confessed to the murder and then retracted that confession.

She claimed her husband and his family forced her to make the confession and that he was the killer.

The harrowing confession was recorded by police and shown to the trial jury in evidence.

"He was breathing as if he was asleep when I left him," she said. "He was still murmuring the same thing over and over again. I thought that he was just tired."

When she returned 10 minutes later she said she found her son shaking and shivering on the floor. He then died.

She then used barbecue gel to burn her son's body in an attempt to hide the evidence.

The mother also confessed to beating her son for no reason and that her anger often led to her being out of control.

She and her husband had enrolled Yaseen in advanced classes at their local mosque as they wanted him to become Hafiz - an Islamic term for someone who memorises the Koran.

As a child Sara Ege had taken part in competitions showing her knowledge of Islam and had recited from the Koran. The court heard that she become increasingly frustrated with her son's inability to learn the passages.

She told officers: "I was getting all this bad stuff in my head, like I couldn't concentrate, I was getting angry too much, I would shout at Yaseen all the time.

"I was getting very wild and I hit Yaseen with a stick on his back like a dog."

She later retracted her statement.

The trial heard that Yaseen suffered significant abdominal injuries that were the cause of his death.

They included fractures which were non-accidental. He also had numerous historical injuries.

"Sara Ege made no attempt to seek the medical attention he so obviously needed," the court was told during the trial by prosecutor Ian Murphy.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-20920649