Egyptian TV presenter Sarah Khalifa among 12 people sentenced to death in drugs case

An Egyptian court has sentenced television presenter Sarah Khalifa and 11 others to death for manufacturing and trafficking narcotics in a sprawling drugs case.

The 39-year-old is best known for her program Mission Impossible, which deals with issues concerning security and crime.

In a post on X, she reacted to the sentencing in a Cairo court by yelling “I’ve never smoked a cigarette in my life. I swear to God, I’m innocent.”

The state-linked Al-Ahram newspaper reported that Khalifa was sentenced to “death by hanging” for her alleged wide-ranging role in the manufacturing and distribution of illegal drugs.

“Khalifa and 11 other defendants [sentenced] to death by hanging, on charges of forming an organised criminal gang specialising in procuring materials used in manufacturing narcotics,” it reported.

“[It also had] the intent to traffic them, and [was] possessing and carrying unlicensed firearms and ammunition.”

The verdict came after the court consulted the Grand Mufti of Egypt for his religious opinion, a procedure required by Egyptian law in capital cases.

The verdict is subject to appeal.

Khalifa also owns a plastic surgery clinic and a production company that specialises in organising parties and events.

According to the state-run Akhbar Al-Youm newspaper, the defendants were charged with “manufacturing synthetic drugs with the intent to traffic them, by importing the materials used in manufacturing from abroad”.

Al-Ahram reported that authorities seized more than 750 kilograms of narcotics and raw materials, and found two apartments used as laboratories, as well as unlicensed firearms and ammunition.

The court also sentenced Khalifa and others to five years in prison over a separate case involving the kidnapping and assault of a young man.

Egypt applies the death penalty for premeditated murder, terrorism, some rape offences and drug trafficking.

According to the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, some 541 death sentences were issued in Egypt in 2025.

Khalifa, who has 2.5 million followers on her Instagram account, was briefly married to former Egyptian football player Mahmoud Kharaba in 2016.

AFP/ABC