Egyptian TV presenter Sarah Khalifa among 12 sentenced to death for drug trafficking
A court in Egypt has sentenced well-known television presenter Sarah Khalifa and 11 other people to death by hanging after convicting them of manufacturing and trafficking narcotics in a sprawling drug case.
The Cairo criminal court pronounced the death sentences following the conviction of the defendants for forming an organized criminal gang that focused on acquiring materials for the production of narcotics, with the intent to traffic them, and possessing and carrying unlicensed firearms and ammunition, the English-language news website Ahram Online reported.
The court also sentenced nine co-defendants to life imprisonment, and found seven others not guilty in a case involving 28 defendants and hundreds of kilograms of narcotics.
The ruling was issued following the court’s consultation with the grand mufti for his non-binding religious opinion – a step mandated by Egyptian law in capital cases. The ruling can be appealed before the Court of Cassation.
Khalifa is best known for hosting the program “Mission Impossible”, which dealt with issues concerning security and crime and aired on the private al-Mehwar television channel.
The 39-year-old presenter also owns a cosmetic surgery clinic and a production company that specializes in organizing parties and events. She maintained a significant social media presence with over two million Instagram followers.
According to the state-run Akhbar el-Yom newspaper, the defendants were charged with “manufacturing synthetic drugs with the intent to traffic them, by importing the materials used in manufacturing from abroad.”
Ahram Online reported that authorities seized more than 750 kilograms of narcotics and raw materials, and found two apartments used as laboratories.
Khalifa denied the charges and told investigators she had “never smoked a cigarette in my life” and declared her innocence.
In a separate case on Saturday, the same court sentenced Khalifa and others to five years in prison for the kidnapping and assault of a young man.
The Egyptian legal system imposes capital punishment for serious crimes, including drug trafficking, acts of terrorism, and premeditated murder.
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