An Egyptian television presenter faces execution after a Cairo court sentenced her to death for financing and coordinating a synthetic drug network, but her lawyer says they will appeal, and legal experts say the case is far from over. Sarah Khalifa, known for hosting the crime programme Mission Impossible on private channel Al-Mehwar and for her events business, was sentenced on Saturday alongside 11 others in a major synthetic drug manufacturing and trafficking case. Nine defendants received life sentences and seven were acquitted.
Those sentenced to death were also fined 500,000 Egyptian pounds (€8,000). Khalifa's brother Mohamed was among those sentenced to death, on charges of manufacturing and testing drugs. Khalifa's lawyer Mohamed El-Gendy said the defence would appeal and pursue all available legal avenues.
A higher criminal court can reconsider the evidence and each defendant's role, upholding, reducing, or overturning sentences. A further challenge before Egypt's Court of Cassation is also possible. Before Saturday's ruling, the court had referred Khalifa and 12 other defendants to Egypt's Grand Mufti — a procedural requirement before a criminal court can impose the death penalty.
The Mufti's opinion is advisory and not binding. Twelve of those 13 defendants ultimately received death sentences. Egyptian media initially described the case as involving synthetic hashish, but forensic evidence presented during the trial identified the substances as synthetic cannabinoids, laboratory-made chemicals that mimic some of the effects of cannabis on the brain but can be significantly more potent and unpredictable.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime describes MDMB-4en-PINACA as a potent synthetic cannabinoid placed under international control in 2021 following a World Health Organization recommendation citing severe adverse effects and deaths. Synthetic cannabinoids can cause psychosis, seizures, heart and kidney problems, and in severe cases, death. The committee said the substance was not specifically listed on Egypt's controlled narcotics schedule, but concluded it fell under Egyptian law because its chemical structure and effects were similar to already-listed substances.
The defence challenged that interpretation and the court accepted the committee's findings. The case began in April 2025 when Egypt's anti-narcotics authorities said they had uncovered a network importing raw materials used to manufacture synthetic drugs. Police initially raided two Cairo apartments and recovered around 200 kilograms of drugs, raw materials and equipment.
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