Egypt court sentences TV presenter Sarah Khalifa to death

An Egyptian court in Cairo has sentenced television presenter Sarah Khalifa and 11 other defendants to death for what prosecutors described as manufacturing and trafficking narcotics, according to AFP reporting carried by The Guardian. The verdict, which the court said would be carried out by hanging, followed a case in which authorities said they seized more than 750 kilograms of narcotics and raw materials and found two apartments used as laboratories. The defendants also face accusations of possessing unlicensed firearms and ammunition, AFP reported.

Under Egyptian procedure in capital cases, the court consulted the Grand Mufti for a religious opinion before issuing the sentence, a step that is formal but routinely cited by courts to underscore the gravity of the decision. The verdict is subject to appeal, meaning the death sentences are not final even as they serve their immediate public purpose: signaling that drug cases sit in the same punitive category as terrorism and murder. AFP notes that Egypt applies capital punishment to drug trafficking alongside other serious offences, and rights groups have long argued that the country’s courts use mass sentencing and harsh penalties to project control.

Khalifa’s prominence makes the case unusually legible. AFP describes her as known for a television programme focused on security and crime, and reports that she also owns a cosmetic surgery clinic and a production company that organizes parties and events. That mix—public-facing media work and private business interests—creates a ready-made morality play for a state that portrays social order as something maintained through exemplary punishment. It also blurs the line between a crackdown on narcotics and a broader message to elites: visibility does not buy insulation.

The scale of Egypt’s death-penalty pipeline is visible in the background numbers. The Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms said 541 death sentences were issued in 2025, according to AFP. In a system where appeals can take time and commutations can happen quietly, the headline number still functions as a measure of how often courts reach for the maximum penalty—and how often the state chooses to keep that option on the table as a deterrent.

AFP also reported that Khalifa and others had previously been sentenced to five years in a separate case involving the kidnapping and assault of a young man. This week’s ruling adds a second, far more consequential judgment to a defendant already known to the courts.

The court’s file, as described by AFP, includes seized narcotics, two alleged laboratory apartments, and unlicensed weapons. The sentence, for now, is a public document—while the appeal process moves behind closed doors.