Mum of TikToker has murder sentence appeal rejected

The mother of a TikTok influencer convicted of murder has failed in her bid to have her sentence reduced. Ansreen Bukhari was jailed for 26 years and nine months for her role in the deaths of Saqib Hussain and Hashim Ijazuddin in a high-speed car chase in February 2022. Bukhari was convicted alongside her daughter, Mahek Bukhari, and two other men.

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Having determined that she wanted to end the relationship, telling the deceased that she wanted to end it on good terms, the answer to that was plainly no.

Her defense team argued at the Court of Appeal that the sentencing judge had not sufficiently considered the coercive and controlling behavior Ansreen Bukhari had endured from Hussain in the weeks leading up to the offenses. Her lawyer claimed Hussain subjected her to a "relentless campaign of blackmail and coercive behavior," which escalated on the day of the chase. The defense contended this should have been used as mitigation during sentencing, especially as coercive control is now treated similarly to domestic abuse offenses.

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Thereafter, and over a period of many, many weeks leading up to these offences, there was what we would categorise as a relentless campaign of blackmail and coercive behaviour from Saqib Hussain towards Ansreen Bukhari.

However, a panel of three judges dismissed the appeal. They concluded that the original sentence was justified and upheld the 26-year, nine-month term. This decision follows a separate appeal by Mahek Bukhari, who had her minimum life sentence reduced from nearly 32 years to 27 years in October, with judges citing her youth and immaturity as factors for consideration. The trial at Leicester Crown Court heard that Hussain had been lured to a meeting where he was allegedly promised the return of £3,000 he had spent on a relationship.

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the sentence was justified.