Egyptian TV presenter sentenced to death on drug charges

By Eyad Kourdi, Issy Ronald, CNN

(CNN) — Egyptian TV presenter Sarah Khalifa was among 12 people sentenced to death for their alleged role in a drug trafficking network on Saturday, according to a state-owned Egyptian outlet.

The 12 defendants, including Khalifa, were sentenced to death by hanging and fined 500,000 Egyptian pounds ($9,800) by Cairo’s Criminal Court, the al-Ahram newspaper reported.

They were accused of forming an organized criminal gang “specializing in importing substances used in the manufacture of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking,” as well as possessing firearms without a license, al-Ahram said. Nine others were sentenced to life imprisonment and seven were acquitted.

Khalifa, who has 2.5 million followers on Instagram, is a well-known presenter who runs her own beauty clinic and hosted an entertainment show with musician Hamo Bika.

CNN has contacted her attorney for comment. She wept during the sentencing, asking for “mercy and humanity,” a video circulating on social media appeared to show. CNN was unable to independently verify the footage.

“I have never smoked a cigarette in my life,” she could be heard saying. “I swear to Almighty God, with the strongest oath, that I have been wronged.”

Prosecutors said the network imported products required for synthetic drug production from abroad, with different individuals responsible for different stages of the process.

They said they seized 750 kilograms of synthetic narcotics and other raw materials from a residential property where the defendants allegedly stored and made the drugs. Their case was built on testimony from 20 witnesses, as well as conversations, photographs and video footage, they added.

Egypt issued 492 death sentences in 2025, one of the highest recorded rates in the world, according to Amnesty International. The country executed 23 prisoners.

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