Egypt sentences TV presenter, 11 others to death in drug trafficking case

Egyptian television presenter and influencer Sarah Khalifa, 39, and 11 co-defendants were sentenced to death by hanging by a Cairo criminal court for forming a criminal gang that imported materials to manufacture and traffic synthetic drugs and possessed unlicensed firearms and ammunition. Authorities said they seized more than 750 kilograms of narcotics and raw materials and found two laboratories in Cairo. Prosecutors alleged Khalifa helped finance the network and dealt with international crime figures, but she denies the charges and says she had never seen drugs before being photographed beside them at an anti-narcotics office. Nine of the 28 defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment, while seven were acquitted. The court also imposed five-year prison terms on Khalifa and others in a separate kidnapping and assault case. The death sentences followed consultation with Egypt’s Grand Mufti as required by law, but the ruling is not final and Khalifa’s lawyers plan to appeal.