An Egyptian court docket has sentenced tv presenter Sarah Khalifa and 11 different defendants to dying for his or her alleged involvement in a large-scale drug trafficking and manufacturing operation, BBC reported. Khalifa, 39, is understood for internet hosting ‘Mission Inconceivable’, a tv programme centered on safety and crime-related points. She additionally owns a beauty surgical procedure clinic and a manufacturing firm that organises events and occasions, based on AFP.
State-owned Al-Ahram reported that Khalifa and the opposite defendants have been discovered responsible of belonging to an organised legal group that allegedly imported uncooked supplies from overseas to fabricate artificial medication on the market. Prosecutors mentioned completely different members of the group have been concerned in importing the supplies, producing the medication and distributing them.
Authorities reportedly seized greater than 750 kg of narcotics and supplies used to fabricate them in the course of the investigation. Two flats allegedly getting used as drug laboratories have been additionally found, together with unlicensed firearms and amunition.
The court docket sentenced 9 different defendants to life imprisonment, whereas seven have been acquitted. Khalifa’s lawyer has mentioned that she is going to enchantment the dying sentence. The decision was initially introduced final month however was formally confirmed after Egypt’s Grand Mufti issued a spiritual opinion, a procedural requirement in dying penalty instances
Khalifa has denied the allegations and maintained her innocence all through the case. Throughout a court docket listening to final September, she reportedly advised the choose that she had by no means seen medication earlier than she was photographed with them contained in the places of work of Egypt’s anti-narcotics authority. She additionally advised investigators that she had by no means smoked a cigarette in her life.
Egyptian media reported that Khalifa broke down in court docket and pleaded for mercy. “Please hearken to me, sir. My dad and mom raised me properly; they’re individuals who pray, and I do not want drug cash” she mentioned.
Prosecutors primarily based their case on statements from 20 witnesses, together with technical and digital proof, together with messages, images, and movies that they mentioned documented the group’s actions, based on Al-Ahram.
Khalifa was arrested in Cairo in April 2025 as a part of the investigation, with an arrest warrant issued later that yr.
Egypt continues to retain the dying penalty for a spread of offences, together with premeditated homicide, terrorism, sure rape offences, and drug trafficking. The usage of capital punishment in drug-related instances has drawn criticism from human rights organisations.
Amnesty Worldwide reported that Egypt handed down 492 dying sentences in 2025, with 23 executions carried out that yr. The organisation has argued that the dying penalty ought to be restricted below worldwide legislation to crimes involving intentional killing. The Egyptian Fee for Rights and Freedoms, in the meantime, recorded 541 dying sentences within the nation throughout 2025, based on a report by Independent.
