from AHMED MOOLAH in Cairo, Egypt
Egypt Bureau
CAIRO, (CAJ News) – EGYPTIAN television presenter and media personality Sarah Khalifa Hamada, 39, has been sentenced to death by hanging after a Cairo Criminal Court convicted her of participating in an organised criminal group involved in manufacturing and trafficking synthetic narcotics.
Khalifa, known for presenting the crime-focused programme – Mission Impossible, was among 12 defendants sentenced to death on 5 September in what is widely dubbed the “Grand Drug Case”.
Nine other defendants received life sentences, while seven were acquitted.
The verdict remains subject to appeal before Egypt’s Court of Cassation.
Prosecutors accused Khalifa and the other defendants of forming an organised criminal gang that imported raw materials used to manufacture synthetic drugs, produced the narcotics in Egypt and prepared them for distribution.
Investigators said more than 750 kilograms of synthetic narcotics and related materials were seized, with residential properties allegedly converted into laboratories.
The defendants were also convicted of possessing firearms and ammunition without licences.
Khalifa has denied the allegations and maintained her innocence. Her defence challenged aspects of the prosecution’s evidence, including arrest and search procedures, forensic findings and the classification of the seized substances.
Her lawyer, Dr Mohamed Hamouda, also sought to reopen arguments after a court-appointed technical committee submitted its findings.
The trial was presided over by Judge Abdel-Monsef Ismail Mahmoud, with judges Essam Ahmed Bakkar and Seddik Mohamed Refki on the panel.
The prosecution’s case was presented by Public Prosecution representative Mahmoud El-Sanousi, who argued that the seized substances fell within the legally prohibited category and sought the maximum penalty, death by hanging.
Khalifa’s defence team included Hamouda and Mohamed El-Gendy, who challenged the prosecution’s case and questioned aspects of the investigation and evidence.
Before issuing the death sentences, the court referred the defendants’ papers to Egypt’s Grand Mufti, as required in capital cases. The Mufti’s opinion is advisory rather than binding.
Khalifa was arrested in Cairo in April 2025.
She now faces a lengthy appeal process that could alter the verdict.
– CAJ News