Sarah Khalifa, a 39-year-old Egyptian television presenter known for hosting the crime-focused program Mission Impossible, was sentenced to death by hanging along with 11 other defendants after being convicted of involvement in drug trafficking. The court found that the group had imported ingredients used in drug manufacturing with intent to distribute them and also possessed illegal firearms and ammunition.
Khalifa has consistently denied the charges against her. Her legal team indicated plans to pursue an appeal of the death sentence. During her court testimony, she claimed she had never encountered any drugs until she was photographed with them inside the anti-narcotics authority’s offices.
The verdict was initially announced last month but required formal confirmation one month later following a mandatory legal process in which the grand mufti of Egypt provided a required religious opinion. The court presented substantial evidence during the proceedings, including testimony from 20 witnesses and electronic evidence such as recorded conversations and video recordings. Authorities had seized over 750 kilograms of narcotics and the raw materials intended for drug production.
Of the 27 defendants in the case, nine received life sentences while seven were acquitted. Capital punishment convictions for drug-related offenses have drawn scrutiny from international human rights organizations, which contend that such sentences exceed standards under international law that restrict death penalties to cases involving intentional killing.
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