Egyptian court sentences TV presenter Sarah Khalifa to death over drug charges

Egyptian television presenter Sarah Khalifa has been sentenced to death by a Cairo court alongside 11 other people in a case involving the production and trafficking of synthetic drugs.

Khalifa, 39, was known for the program “Mission Impossible,” which focused on crime and security. She also owns a cosmetics clinic and an event-organizing company, according to the article.

Egyptian state media reported that the court found Khalifa and the other defendants guilty of forming an organized criminal group. Prosecutors accused them of obtaining substances used to manufacture drugs and trafficking them. The case also included allegations of illegally possessing and transporting weapons and ammunition.

Investigators said the group imported raw materials from abroad for synthetic-drug production. Searches seized more than 750 kilograms of drugs and raw materials, along with two apartments that had been converted into laboratories. Police also found weapons and numerous cartridges held without authorization.

The death sentences were issued after consultation with Egypt’s Grand Mufti, a procedure required under Egyptian law in capital cases. The ruling can be appealed. Khalifa and some of the other defendants also received five-year prison sentences in a separate case involving the alleged kidnapping and assault of a young man. Egyptian law allows the death penalty for offenses including premeditated murder, terrorism, certain sexual crimes and drug trafficking. The Egyptian Rights and Freedoms Commission said 541 death sentences were issued in Egypt in 2025.