Egyptian TV presenter sentenced to death in major drug case

Cairo court sentences TV host Sarah Khalifa and 11 others to death over drug trafficking ring.

Egyptian media personality Sarah Khalifa [Photo from her personal Instagram account]

A court in Egypt has sentenced television presenter Sarah Khalifa and 11 other people to death by hanging after convicting them of drug charges.

The Cairo criminal court issued the death sentences after the defendants were found guilty of forming an organised criminal gang specialising in procuring materials used in manufacturing narcotics, with the intent to traffic them, the state-linked Al-Ahram outlet reported on Saturday.

The court also sentenced nine co-defendants to life imprisonment and acquitted seven others in a case that involved 28 defendants and more than 750kg of narcotics.

Khalifa, 39, is best known for hosting the security and crime programme “Mission Impossible”, which aired on the private Al-Mehwar TV channel.

Khalifa was also a business owner, running a cosmetic surgery clinic and an event planning company, and maintained a significant social media presence with over two million Instagram followers.

Khalifa denied the charges and told investigators she had “never smoked a cigarette in my life” and declared her innocence.

Egyptian media reported that she was weeping and crying during the session, asking the court for mercy: “Please listen to me, sir. My parents raised me well; they are people who pray, and I don’t need drug money”

Prosecutors said the gang imported raw materials from abroad to manufacture synthetic drugs, storing them in residential properties. Members divided roles between procurement, manufacturing and distribution, authorities said. Investigators seized unlicensed firearms and ammunition alongside the narcotics.

The prosecution said the group used a residential property to store the materials and manufacture the drugs.

The verdict, issued after the court consulted Egypt’s grand mufti for his non-binding religious opinion as required by law in capital cases, can be appealed before the Court of Cassation. Under recent judicial reforms, defendants have two avenues of appeal, beginning with a request for retrial before an appeals court.

Khalifa was arrested in April 2025 as part of the investigation. In a separate case on Saturday, the same court sentenced her to three years in prison for assaulting and filming her driver.

Egypt imposes the death penalty for drug trafficking, terrorism and premeditated murder.

开罗法院判处电视主持人萨拉·哈利法和其他11人死刑，罪名是贩毒集团犯罪。

埃及媒体名人萨拉·哈利法（照片来自她的个人Instagram账号）

埃及一家法院判处电视节目主持人萨拉·哈利法和其他 11 人绞刑，罪名是毒品犯罪。

据与政府有关联的《金字塔报》周六报道，开罗刑事法院判处被告死刑，罪名是组建有组织的犯罪团伙，专门采购用于制造毒品的材料，并意图贩运毒品。

法院还判处九名共同被告终身监禁，并宣判其他七名被告无罪。该案涉及 28 名被告和超过 750 公斤的毒品。

39岁的哈利法最出名的是主持了安全和犯罪节目“不可能的任务”，该节目在私人电视台Al-Mehwar TV频道播出。

哈利法同时也是一位企业主，经营着一家整形外科诊所和一家活动策划公司，并在社交媒体上拥有相当高的影响力，Instagram 粉丝超过 200 万。

哈利法否认了这些指控，并告诉调查人员她“这辈子从来没有抽过烟”，并宣称自己是无辜的。

据埃及媒体报道，庭审期间她一直在哭泣，恳求法庭宽恕：“请听我说，先生。我的父母把我教育得很好；他们是虔诚的信徒，我不需要毒资。”

检方称，该团伙从国外进口原材料制造合成毒品，并将毒品藏匿于住宅内。据当局称，团伙成员分工明确，分别负责采购、制造和分销毒品。调查人员在缴获毒品的同时，还查获了无证枪支弹药。

检方称，该团伙利用一处住宅存放毒品原料并制造毒品。

根据法律规定，死刑案件中必须咨询埃及大穆夫提的意见，但大穆夫提的意见不具约束力。法院在咨询后作出判决，该判决可向最高法院提起上诉。根据近期司法改革，被告有两条上诉途径，首先是向上诉法院申请重审。

哈利法于2025年4月因该案被捕。在周六的另一起案件中，同一法院判处她三年监禁，罪名是殴打并拍摄她的司机。

埃及对贩毒、恐怖主义和预谋杀人处以死刑。