A Cairo court has sentenced Egyptian television presenter Sarah Khalifa and 11 others to death by hanging after convicting them on charges of manufacturing and trafficking narcotics. The court also sentenced nine co-defendants to life imprisonment and acquitted seven others in the sprawling case, which involved 28 defendants.
The 39-year-old host of the crime-focused program “Mission Impossible” was found guilty of forming an organized criminal gang that procured materials used to manufacture narcotics with the intent to traffic them. Authorities seized more than 750 kilograms of narcotics and raw materials, discovered two apartments used as drug laboratories, and found unlicensed firearms and ammunition. The prosecution’s case was built on testimony from 20 witnesses, along with conversations, photographs, and video footage.
Khalifa, who has denied the charges, wept during the sentencing, asking for “mercy and humanity”. She also stated, “I have never smoked a cigarette in my life. I swear to Almighty God, with the strongest oath, that I have been wronged”. The verdict came after the court consulted Egypt’s Grand Mufti for his religious opinion, a procedure required by Egyptian law in capital cases.
The death sentence is subject to appeal, and Khalifa’s lawyer has confirmed she plans to appeal the decision. The court also sentenced Khalifa and others to five years in prison in a separate case involving the kidnapping and assault of a young man. Egypt enforces the death penalty for drug trafficking, terrorism, and premeditated murder.
