Court sentences Egyptian television presenter, 11 others to death
An Egyptian television presenter Sarah Khalifa has been sentenced to death by hanging, alongside 11 others, after a Cairo court convicted them in a major narcotics case involving more than 750 kilogrammes of drugs.
The Cairo Criminal Court found the defendants guilty of forming an organised criminal gang involved in procuring raw materials for the manufacture and trafficking of synthetic drugs.
A statement by the State-linked Al-Ahram indicates that nine other defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment, while seven were acquitted in the case involving 28 people.
Khalifa, 39, is known for hosting the security and crime programme Mission Impossible on Al-Mehwar TV.
She also ran businesses including a cosmetic surgery clinic and an events company, and had more than two million followers on Instagram.
It notes that throughout the investigation, Khalifa denied the allegations, telling prosecutors she had never smoked a cigarette and insisting she was innocent.
During the court session, Egyptian media reported that she broke down in tears and pleaded for mercy, saying her parents raised her well and that she had no need for drug money.
Prosecutors alleged that the group imported materials from abroad for the production of synthetic drugs, storing them in residential properties before manufacturing and distributing the narcotics.
It further adds that the investigators also said they recovered unlicensed firearms and ammunition alongside the drugs.
The death sentences will now be subject to Egypt’s legal review process before they can be carried out.
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