An Egyptian court on September 6 sentenced a famous television host and 11 other defendants to death for drug production and trafficking in a large-scale case, official media reported yesterday.
According to AFP, defendant Sarah Khalifa, 39, is best known to the public through the "Mission Impossible" program, which specializes in security and crime issues. This person also owns a cosmetic surgery clinic and a production company specializing in organizing parties and events.
Accordingly, a court in Cairo sentenced "Khalifa and 11 other defendants to death by hanging on charges of establishing an organized crime gang specializing in purchasing raw materials used to produce drugs for the purpose of trading, and storing and carrying weapons and ammunition without a license".
According to the Egyptian state newspaper Akhbar Al-Youm, the defendants are prosecuted for the act of "producing synthetic drugs for the purpose of trading, through importing raw materials produced from abroad".
Authorities seized more than 750kg of drugs and raw materials, discovered two apartments used as laboratories and many unlicensed weapons and ammunition.
In a separate case related to the act of kidnapping and assaulting a young man, the court also sentenced Khalifa and several other defendants to 5 years in prison.
The verdict was issued after the court consulted the religious opinion of the Grand Ayatollah of Egypt, a mandatory procedure under the country's law for cases with a death penalty frame. The verdict can still be appealed.
Egypt applies the death penalty for intentional homicide, terrorism, and some rape and drug trafficking. According to the Egyptian Committee for the Rights and Freedoms, 541 death sentences were pronounced in this country in 2025.
