An Egyptian television presenter and social media influencer, Sarah Khalifa, has been sentenced to death after being convicted of running a drug trafficking ring. Khalifa, 39, was among 12 individuals sentenced on Saturday by a Cairo criminal court. Her legal team has confirmed that an appeal will be filed.
Khalifa, who has a significant following on Instagram, faces a legal process where a higher Egyptian court will review the evidence presented against her. This court has the authority to uphold the death sentence, reduce it, or overturn it entirely. Should the appeal be unsuccessful at this level, her lawyer can escalate the case to the Egyptian Court of Cassation, the nation's supreme court. This court reviews cases based on legal discrepancies rather than new evidence.
Prosecutors stated that Khalifa, along with her brother Mohamed and 10 others, operated an organized gang that imported raw materials for drug manufacturing. The group allegedly stored these materials in various properties, coordinating sourcing, production, and distribution. Authorities reported seizing over 1,650 pounds of narcotics as part of the investigation. Khalifa was arrested and charged in April, reportedly asserting her innocence and claiming she had never smoked a cigarette.
In addition to the death sentences, nine other individuals involved in the case received life imprisonment, while seven were acquitted. Capital punishment in Egypt is applied to serious crimes including drug trafficking, terrorism, premeditated murder, and certain rape offenses. In 2025, Egyptian courts handed down 541 death sentences, according to the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms. Egypt was identified as one of seven Arab nations that carried out executions in the past year.
Historically, the Egyptian Court of Cassation has demonstrated the ability to overturn death sentences. For instance, in 2016, the death sentence of former President Mohammed Morsi was quashed and a retrial ordered. The court also overturned the death sentences of 36 Muslim Brotherhood members in 2015. However, the court has also upheld capital punishment, as seen in 2021 when 12 individuals, including members of the Muslim Brotherhood, received death sentences following a mass trial related to 2013 demonstrations in Cairo.