A Cairo court has handed down a death sentence to Egyptian TV personality Sarah Khalifa, finding her guilty of involvement in a large-scale narcotics operation.
Khalifa, who boasts 2.6 million followers on Instagram, maintained she was unaware of any drug-related activity, Ahram Online, an Egyptian state-run publication, reported. Her lawyer confirmed to the BBC that she plans to challenge the verdict.
The punishment , death by hanging , carries an additional penalty of 500,000 Egyptian pounds (around $9,800), per the Egyptian state-owned outlet Al-Ahram Gate.
Ahram Online noted that “the death sentences were issued after consultation with the Grand Mufti, a mandatory but non-binding procedure in capital cases,” adding that “the ruling remains appealable and is therefore not final.”
Egyptian television host Sarah Khalifa has been sentenced to death in a drug ring case.
Eleven co-defendants were also condemned to death, while nine others drew life sentences and seven walked free on all counts, Ahram Online confirmed. The case originally involved 28 individuals.
Authorities took Khalifa into custody in Cairo in April 2025. Prosecutors claimed she played a coordinating role in a network “specializing in importing raw materials used in the manufacture of synthetic narcotics, to produce and traffic the drugs, as well as possessing unlicensed firearms and ammunition,” according to the outlet.
She allegedly functioned as the “principal financier and liaison between members inside and outside Egypt,” with the prosecution’s arguments resting on statements from 20 witnesses alongside digital proof including text exchanges, video clips, and photographs.
According to reports, the 39-year-old operated a beauty clinic and an event planning business in Egypt, and previously anchored a domestic television program called Mission Impossible that focused on crime and related topics.
“I have never smoked a cigarette in my life,” Khalifa shouted during her Sept. 5 sentencing hearing at Cairo Criminal Court, in footage now spreading across social media. “I swear to Almighty God, with the strongest oath, that I have been wronged.”
Representing attorneys for Khalifa had not replied to requests for comment at the time of publication.
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