Cairo court sentences Egyptian broadcaster Sara Khalifa and 11 others to death in drug trafficking case

A Cairo criminal court sentenced former television broadcaster and artistic producer Sara Khalifa and 11 other defendants to death by hanging in a case widely known in Egypt as the “major drugs” case.

The court convicted the defendants of forming an organized criminal gang that specialized in bringing in materials used to manufacture drugs for trafficking. The charges also included manufacturing synthetic narcotics for distribution and possessing firearms and ammunition without licenses.

The verdict came after the court referred the defendants’ case files to Egypt’s grand mufti for a religious opinion, a procedure required under Egyptian law in death-penalty cases. The ruling can still be appealed.

Egyptian media reported that legal proceedings began last year and initially involved Khalifa and 27 other people. Those defendants included her brother and three people from the same family. The prosecution accused them of importing materials for the production of synthetic drugs with the intention of trafficking them.