An Egyptian court has sentenced a television presenter and eleven other individuals to death for their involvement in the production and distribution of narcotics, according to official media reports released on Saturday.
The presenter, Sarah Khalifa, aged 39, gained recognition for her programme Mission Impossible, which addressed matters related to security and crime.
The state-affiliated Al-Ahram newspaper reported that a Cairo court sentenced "Khalifa and eleven other defendants to death by hanging on charges of forming an organised criminal group dedicated to obtaining materials used in narcotic production, with the intention of distributing them, as well as possessing and carrying unlicensed firearms and ammunition."
The ruling was issued following the court's consultation with the Grand Mufti of Egypt for his religious opinion, a step mandated by Egyptian law in capital cases. The verdict remains open to appeal.
Khalifa additionally owns a cosmetic surgery clinic and a production company that focuses on organising parties and events.
According to the state-run Akhbar el-Yom newspaper, the defendants faced charges of "manufacturing synthetic drugs with the intention of distributing them, by importing the production materials from abroad."
Al-Ahram stated that authorities confiscated over 750kg of narcotics and raw materials, and discovered two apartments being used as laboratories, along with unlicensed firearms and ammunition.
The court also imposed a five-year prison sentence on Khalifa and others in a separate case concerning the kidnapping and assault of a young man.
Egypt enforces the death penalty for premeditated murder, terrorism, certain rape offences, and drug trafficking.
According to the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, 541 death sentences were handed down in Egypt in 2025.
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