Egyptian TV Presenter Faces Death Sentence in Drug Case

Egyptian television presenter Sarah Khalifa, 39, and 11 other defendants have been sentenced to death in Egypt after being convicted of drug trafficking and related offences, according to state-owned Al-Ahram. Prosecutors alleged that Khalifa was part of a criminal organization that imported raw materials to manufacture drugs for distribution. They also accused the group of possessing illegal firearms and ammunition. Khalifa, who presented the crime programme “Mission Impossible,” has denied all charges, and her lawyer said she would appeal the sentence. The court sentenced nine additional defendants to life imprisonment and acquitted seven others. The death sentences were issued initially the previous month but required confirmation after Egypt’s Grand Mufti issued a religious opinion, a procedural requirement in Egyptian capital cases. Authorities said they seized more than 750 kilograms of narcotics and materials allegedly intended for drug production. Prosecutors also relied on testimony from 20 witnesses and electronic evidence, including conversations and video recordings. During a hearing in September, Khalifa denied involvement in drug activity. She said she had only encountered the substances when she was photographed with them at the offices of Egypt’s anti-narcotics authority. The case has renewed scrutiny of Egypt’s use of capital punishment. Amnesty International documented 492 death sentences and 23 executions in Egypt in 2025. The organization has criticized the use of the death penalty for drug trafficking, arguing that such offences do not qualify as “most serious crimes” under international law. The article presents the convictions, Khalifa’s denial and planned appeal, the evidence cited by prosecutors, and broader human-rights concerns surrounding the case.

Egyptian television presenter Sarah Khalifa, 39, has been sentenced to death in Cairo for allegedly running an organized drug-trafficking operation. Her lawyer, Mohamed El-Gendy, has confirmed that the verdict will be appealed. Khalifa was sentenced alongside her brother, Mohamed, and 10 other people after prosecutors accused the group of importing raw materials used to manufacture drugs, storing them in various properties, and dividing responsibilities for sourcing, production, and distribution. Authorities reportedly seized more than 1,650 pounds of narcotics during the investigation. Khalifa, who hosts the television program “Mission Impossible” and has 2.6 million Instagram followers, reportedly pleaded with the court and said she had never smoked a cigarette or needed money from drugs. She was arrested and charged in April despite denying involvement. Nine other defendants received life sentences, while seven were acquitted. The appeal will first be heard by a higher Egyptian court, which could uphold, reduce, or overturn the death sentence. If the ruling is upheld, Khalifa’s lawyer may petition Egypt’s Court of Cassation, the country’s highest court. That court does not generally reconsider evidence but reviews appeals for legal errors or procedural irregularities. The article notes that Egypt’s Court of Cassation has previously overturned death sentences, including those imposed on former president Mohamed Morsi and Muslim Brotherhood members, although it has also upheld capital punishment in other cases. Capital punishment in Egypt can be imposed for crimes including drug trafficking, terrorism, premeditated murder, and certain rape offenses. Amnesty International reported that Egypt was among seven Arab countries to conduct executions in the previous year, while the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms recorded 541 death sentences in 2025.

Egyptian television presenter Sarah Khalifa has been sentenced to death by hanging after being convicted of leading an organised drug-trafficking network in Cairo. She was sentenced alongside 11 others, while nine co-defendants received life sentences and seven of the 28 people initially charged were acquitted. Two alleged leaders were tried in absentia. Prosecutors said the network imported chemicals, manufactured synthetic narcotics in Egypt and trafficked drugs, unlicensed firearms and ammunition. They described Khalifa as the group’s manager, financier and intermediary, and alleged that she used her companies to move money. Investigators reportedly seized more than 750 kilograms of El Bodra, a synthetic cannabinoid, and related materials from two apartments converted into laboratories. Media reports also linked the network to GHB, sometimes called a date-rape drug. Khalifa has denied all charges since her arrest in April 2025. During the trial, she said she had never used drugs and did not need money from drug trafficking. Her lawyer, Mohamed El Gendy, said the verdict would be appealed because of procedural legal errors and predicted that it would be overturned before reaching Egypt’s Court of Cassation. The case has attracted intense public attention because Khalifa was a well-known presenter with millions of social-media followers and a career spanning Egyptian, Saudi and Iraqi television. Many people have questioned the severity of the sentence and demanded greater transparency about the evidence, much of which has not been made public. The article also notes that authorities reportedly found a disturbing video on Khalifa’s phone involving her driver, although this does not establish the drug-trafficking allegations. Egyptian law allows appeals in capital cases before a specially constituted court and subsequently the Court of Cassation. The article places the case within Egypt’s broader use of the death penalty, citing Amnesty International’s figures of 492 death sentences in 2025 and 23 executions. It concludes that, regardless of whether Khalifa is innocent, carrying out the sentence without publicly accounting for the evidence would create a troubling precedent.

The France 24 “Eye on Africa” edition covers three major African stories. First, a South African high court has rejected a former defence minister’s attempt to have a corruption case against her dismissed. The provided text does not identify the minister, detail the allegations, or explain the court’s reasoning, but it indicates that the legal proceedings will continue. The second and most prominent item concerns Egypt, where a court has sentenced about a dozen people to death on drug-related charges. The headline identifies an Egyptian influencer as a subject of the death-penalty case, while the programme description refers to an Egyptian television presenter among those sentenced. The excerpt does not provide the person’s name, the specific charges, the amount or type of drugs involved, or information about possible appeals. Because the death penalty is a severe criminal sanction, this report represents the most serious and negative development in the programme. The final story reports the opening of what is described as the first Pan-African Architecture Biennale. The event began on Monday in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, and is presented as a continental cultural and architectural development. The item is a short, 14-minute news programme segment rather than a full article. It offers headline-level coverage of legal proceedings in South Africa and Egypt and a cultural event in Kenya, without supplying extended background or on-the-record quotations. The overall approach is concise, factual, and geographically broad, consistent with a news bulletin designed to inform viewers about several developments across Africa.