Published: 12:49 AM, 07 September 2026
Egyptian TV presenter Sarah Khalifa among 12 sentenced to death
An Egyptian court has sentenced a television presenter and 11 others to death for manufacturing and trafficking narcotics in a major drug case, according to official media. Sarah Khalifa, 39, is best known for hosting Mission Impossible, a programme dealing with issues related to security and crime, The Guardian reports.
State-linked Al-Ahram newspaper reported on Saturday that a Cairo court sentenced Khalifa and the 11 other defendants to death by hanging for forming an organised criminal gang specialising in procuring materials used to manufacture narcotics, with the intention of trafficking them, and possessing and carrying unlicensed firearms and ammunition, Reuters reports.
The verdict came after the court consulted Egypt's Grand Mufti for his religious opinion, a procedure required under Egyptian law in capital cases.
The verdict can be appealed.
Khalifa also owns a cosmetic surgery clinic and a production company specialising in organising parties and events.
According to state-run Akhbar el-Yom newspaper, the defendants were accused of manufacturing synthetic drugs for trafficking by importing materials used in their production from abroad.
Al-Ahram reported that authorities seized more than 750kg of narcotics and raw materials, along with two apartments used as laboratories and unlicensed firearms and ammunition.
The court also sentenced Khalifa and others to five years in prison in a separate case involving the kidnapping and assault of a young man, The Guardian said.
Egypt imposes the death penalty for premeditated murder, terrorism, some rape offences and drug trafficking.
The Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms said 541 death sentences were issued in Egypt in 2025, the report said.
