Egyptian TV presenter Sarah Khalifa has been handed a death sentence after being convicted over her alleged involvement in a large-scale organized drug trafficking network.
Khalifa—who has 2.6 million followers on Instagram—denied knowledge of any drug activity, according to the Egyptian state-owned news outlet Ahram Online. She is appealing her case, her attorney told the BBC.
The court ordered that Khalifa be executed by hanging and also imposed a fine of 500,000 Egyptian pounds, roughly $9,800, Egyptian state-run outlet Al-Ahram Gate reported.
According to Ahram Online, the capital sentences were issued following consultation with Egypt’s Grand Mufti, a required step in death penalty cases, though the opinion is advisory and not legally binding. The outlet noted that the verdict can still be appealed, meaning the ruling is not yet final.
Khalifa was not the only defendant to receive the harshest penalty. Ahram Online reported that 11 additional defendants were also sentenced to death, while nine others received life prison terms. Seven people were cleared of the accusations. Altogether, 28 defendants stood trial in the case.
Authorities arrested Khalifa in Cairo in April 2025. Prosecutors accused her of helping coordinate a group allegedly focused on importing raw ingredients used to make synthetic drugs, manufacturing and distributing the narcotics, and possessing firearms and ammunition without licenses, the outlet reported.
She served as the “principal financier and liaison between members inside and outside Egypt,” prosecutors said, basing their case on testimony from 20 witnesses and digital evidence such as messages, videos and photos.
The 39-year-old reportedly ran a beauty clinic and event planning company in Egypt and formerly hosted a local television program Mission Impossible that covered crime and other subjects.
“I have never smoked a cigarette in my life,” Khalifa screamed during her Sept. 5 sentencing hearing at Cairo Criminal Court in a video circulating social media. “I swear to Almighty God, with the strongest oath, that I have been wronged.”
Khalifa’s attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment.