Full Breakdown

Sarah Khalifa Sentenced to Death in Egypt’s Major Synthetic Drug Trafficking Case

9/8/2026, 8:13:02 AM

Core Event

On September 6, Cairo’s Criminal Court sentenced television presenter Sarah Khalifa, 39, and 11 co-defendants to death by hanging for forming an organized criminal gang that imported raw materials to manufacture synthetic narcotics and trafficked the products. The court also imposed a fine of 500,000 Egyptian pounds (? $9,800) on each of the twelve defendants. Nine others received life imprisonment and seven were acquitted. The verdict follows the court’s mandatory consultation with Egypt’s Grand Mufti, whose non-binding religious opinion is required in capital cases.

Khalifa is best known for hosting the crime-focused programme “Mission Impossible” on the private Al-Mehwar channel. She also runs a cosmetic surgery clinic and an event-planning company. She was arrested in April 2025 as part of a nationwide crackdown on synthetic-drug networks. The investigation uncovered two apartments used as clandestine laboratories, unlicensed firearms, and ammunition. Egyptian law permits the death penalty for premeditated murder, terrorism, certain sexual-offence categories and drug trafficking; this case represents one of the largest drug-related capital prosecutions in recent years.

Seized material: more than 750 kilograms (? 1,653 pounds) of synthetic narcotics and raw precursors.

Defendants: 28 individuals charged; 12 sentenced to death, 9 to life imprisonment, 7 acquitted.

2025 death-sentence tally: 492 death sentences handed down (Amnesty International) and 23 executions carried out (Amnesty International). The Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms reported 541 death sentences in 2025.

Khalifa’s defence lawyer Mohamed El Gendy announced that the verdict will be appealed on the basis of procedural errors, asserting that the judgment should be treated “as if it never existed.”

The Grand Mufti’s advisory opinion, required by law, was obtained before the death sentences were confirmed.

Amnesty International noted that the charges—drug trafficking and rape—do not meet the international standard that reserves the death penalty for “intentional killing.” The organization warned that executing individuals for non-lethal offenses undermines global human-rights norms.

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) highlighted that the lack of publicly disclosed evidence hampers transparency and called for a thorough review of the evidentiary basis before any execution is carried out.

“Please listen to me, sir. My parents raised me well; they are people who pray, and I don’t need drug money” — Prosecutors

“I swear to Almighty God, with the strongest oath, that I have been wronged.” — Prosecutors

Under Egyptian criminal procedure, Khalifa and the other death-sentence recipients may lodge an initial appeal before a specially constituted court and subsequently petition the Court of Cassation, the nation’s highest criminal appellate body. The death sentences will not be carried out until all appeal avenues are exhausted and a final judgment is issued.