Popular Egyptian TV presenter and influencer Sarah Khalifa has been sentenced to death by hanging after being convicted for her alleged role in a major drug trafficking operation.
Khalifa, 39, reportedly broke down in court as the Cairo Criminal Court handed her the death sentence alongside 11 other defendants.
The former host of Egyptian crime programme Mission Impossible, who has more than two million social media followers, strongly denied the allegations.
“Please listen to me, sir. My parents raised me well; they are people who pray, and I don’t need drug money,” she reportedly pleaded in court.
Khalifa also told investigators that she had “never smoked a cigarette” in her life.
According to Egyptian state media, Khalifa and the other defendants were convicted of operating an organised gang that imported raw materials used to manufacture synthetic drugs and stored the finished products in residential properties.
She was arrested in Cairo in April 2025.
Authorities reportedly seized more than 1,600 pounds of narcotics, as well as unlicensed firearms and ammunition, during the investigation.
A total of 28 people were charged in the case. Nine others were sentenced to life imprisonment, while seven were acquitted.
Before issuing the death sentences, the court referred the defendants’ cases to Egypt’s Grand Mufti for a religious opinion, as required in capital cases.
The death sentences can reportedly be appealed under recent judicial reforms.