A Cairo court has sentenced Egyptian television presenter Sarah Khalifa, 39, and 11 other defendants to death by hanging on charges of manufacturing and trafficking synthetic narcotics and illegally possessing firearms and ammunition. The verdict, reported by state-linked media on Saturday, came after the court consulted Egypt's Grand Mufti for a religious opinion — a procedure required by Egyptian law in all capital cases. Khalifa and her co-defendants have the right to appeal before a higher criminal court and subsequently challenge the ruling before the Court of Cassation.
Khalifa is best known for hosting "Mission Impossible", a television programme focused on crime and security issues, and had around three million followers on Instagram before her arrest in April 2025. She also owns a plastic surgery clinic and runs a production company specialising in organising concerts and events. During proceedings, Khalifa denied the charges, telling the court she had never seen drugs until she was photographed with them at a narcotics enforcement office. Prosecutors alleged that the group imported chemical precursors from abroad to manufacture synthetic drugs — including a substance known as synthetic hashish powder — with the intent to sell them. Authorities seized more than 750 kilograms of narcotics and raw materials across two apartments used as laboratories, along with unlicensed weapons and ammunition. Egyptian reports estimated the street value of the finished product at more than one billion Egyptian pounds (roughly $20 million). In a separate case, the court sentenced Khalifa and others to five years in prison for the kidnapping and assault of a young man.
The broader case, widely referred to in Egyptian media as the "major drugs case", involved 28 defendants in total. Nine were sentenced to life imprisonment and seven were acquitted. The verdicts sparked extensive debate on social media in Egypt, with many users supporting the severity of the sentences given the scale of the alleged operation, while a smaller number urged caution and noted that the ruling remains subject to appeal.
Why this matters: Egypt applies the death penalty for a range of offences including premeditated murder, terrorism, certain sexual crimes, and drug trafficking. The Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms recorded 541 death sentences issued in Egypt in 2025 alone, while Amnesty International noted that 23 executions were carried out in the country last year. The case has reignited public debate about the sources of celebrity wealth and the activities promoted on social media platforms, as well as broader concerns about synthetic drug manufacturing networks operating inside Egypt.