An Egyptian TV host reportedly broke down in court after being sentenced to death on drug-related charges, crying out for mercy and insisting: “I have never smoked a cigarette in my life.”
Sarah Khalifa was among 12 defendants given death sentences by hanging after being convicted of offences linked to the production, promotion and trafficking of synthetic drugs, as well as the unlawful possession and carrying of firearms and ammunition.
Khalifa, 39, is widely known in Egypt as the presenter of “Mission Impossible,” a television programme focused on crime and security issues. She was convicted by a court in Cairo.
According to CNN, Khalifa shouted from the courtroom: “I swear to Almighty God, with the strongest oath, that I have been wronged.”
The outlet reported that she was in tears as the sentence was delivered, pleading with the court for “mercy and humanity.”
Khalifa also reportedly told the court that she was suffering from a tumour.
The death sentence was issued after the court sought the opinion of Egypt’s Grand Mufti, a mandatory step under Egyptian law before capital punishment rulings can be handed down.
The decision is not yet final, and the verdict can still be challenged through the appeals process.
Sarah Khalifa and 11 others were sentenced to death by hanging on charges of manufacturing, promoting and trading synthetic drugs, as well as possessing and carrying firearms and ammunition without a licence
The state-linked al-Ahram newspaper said the trial was based on 20 witness statements and photographic evidence of Khalifa’s alleged criminal activities.
The defendants are accused of using two apartments as laboratories to ‘store and manufacture the drugs’.
According to the public prosecution, ‘investigators seized more than 750 kilograms of synthetic narcotics and raw materials used in their production’.
An additional nine defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment and a further seven were acquitted.
Khalifa, who has 2.6million Instagram followers, was arrested in April last year.
She uses her social media platform to advertise her cosmetic surgery clinic.
Two other defendants wanted in relation to the drug gang are still at large and have been placed on travel bans and watch lists, according to the prosecution.
The death penalty is used by Egyptian authorities for crimes including terrorism, premeditated murder, rape and drug trafficking.
The 39-year-old fronts her own Egyptian television programme and boasts more than 2.5million Instagram followers
Khalifa, who owns a production company, was also sentenced to five years in prison over a case involving the kidnapping and assault of a young man
According to Amnesty International, courts in the past have imposed death sentences ‘following grossly unfair trials’.
The Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms claimed that over 500 death sentences were issued last year.
The country executed 23 prisoners.
Production company owner Khalifa was also sentenced alongside others to five years in prison over a separate case involving the kidnapping and assault of a young man.
When the case first became public in April 2025, the Ministry of Interior announced the seizure of about 200 kilograms of narcotics and raw materials, as well as gold jewelry, sums of money in local and foreign currencies, and five cars, which it said were proceeds from criminal activity, estimating the value of those seizures at about £420million.
Further investigations showed that the total amount of drugs and raw materials seized in the case exceeded 750 kilograms.
Egyptian reports estimated their market value, following manufacturing, at more than one billion.
Khalifa founded the company ‘Sarah Production’ and organised events and concerts inside Egypt and a number of Gulf countries.
She presented the programme ‘Sarah and Beka’ on YouTube in 2024, along with the festival performer Hamo Beka, which hosted artists and celebrities.
She is associated with a beauty centre in the Agouza area of Cairo, whose services she promotes online.
