A Cairo criminal court has sentenced Egyptian television presenter Sarah Khalifa, 39, and 11 co-defendants to death by hanging after convicting them of forming an organized criminal gang that procured materials used to manufacture narcotics, with intent to traffic them, according to Al Jazeera, ABC News Australia and Ahram Online.
Khalifa is best known for hosting “Mission Impossible,” a crime and security program on the private Egyptian channel Al-Mehwar TV. She was arrested in April 2025 as part of the investigation into the trafficking network.
A large-scale case
The case involved 28 defendants in total. Alongside the 12 death sentences, the court handed down life prison terms to 9 co-defendants and acquitted 7 others. Investigators said the network was tied to more than 750 kilograms of narcotics-related materials.
Khalifa has denied the charges, and her lawyer has said she intends to appeal. Death sentences issued by Egyptian criminal courts are subject to further judicial review, including referral to the Grand Mufti for a non-binding religious opinion and the possibility of appeal, a process that can take months or longer before any sentence becomes final.
An emotional scene in court
Egyptian media reported that Khalifa wept as the verdict was read, pleading with the court for leniency. She reportedly told the judges, “Please listen to me, sir. My parents raised me well; they are people who pray, and I don’t need drug money.”
A separate conviction
In an unrelated case, the same court previously sentenced Khalifa to three years in prison for assaulting and filming her driver, a case that predates the drug trafficking charges and drew wide attention in Egyptian media before the trafficking verdict came down.
Sources: Al Jazeera · ABC News Australia · Ahram Online
