Mahek Bukhari, a TikTok influencer sentenced to life in prison for the murder of two men, has had her minimum term reduced from 31 years to 26 years and 285 days. The Court of Appeal ruled her original sentence was 'manifestly excessive'.
Bukhari, 23, and her mother Ansreen Bukhari, 46, were convicted in September 2023 for the murders of Saqib Hussain, 21, and Mohammed Hashim Ijazuddin, 21, in February 2022. The killings followed Hussain's threat to expose an affair with Ansreen by releasing a sex tape.
Lord Justice Warby stated the judge had not sufficiently accounted for Bukhari's youth and immaturity at the time of the offences, which occurred when she was 22. The reduction came after her lawyers argued the original term was 'wholly disproportionate'.
The trial heard that the Bukharis lured Hussain to a meeting in Leicester, intending to pay him £3,000 to delete the explicit material. Instead, they ambushed him with a group in two vehicles, chasing and ramming Hussain's car off the A46. Hussain made a frantic 999 call moments before the crash, saying, 'Please, I'm begging you, I'm going to die.' His last words were 'Oh my God' before the call ended.
Five other defendants also had their sentences reviewed at the same hearing. Rekhan Karwan, 29, Raees Jamal, 23, Natasha Akhtar, 23, Ameer Jamal, 28, and Sanaf Gulamustafa, 23, all challenged their sentences alongside Bukhari.
