Overview
- A Cairo criminal court formally sentenced Sarah Khalifa and 11 co‑defendants to death on Saturday after convicting them in a major drug‑manufacturing and trafficking case; nine others received life terms and seven were acquitted.
- Prosecutors said the group was part of a 28‑person network that imported precursor materials, used residential flats as laboratories and prepared synthetic drugs for sale, with authorities seizing more than 750 kilograms of narcotics and related materials.
- The prosecution's case relied on about 20 witness statements plus technical and digital material such as recorded conversations, photos and videos that investigators say tied defendants to the operation.
- Khalifa, who was arrested in April 2025 and has a large social media following, vigorously denied the charges in court and is expected to file an appeal; she also received separate prison terms in unrelated assault and abduction cases reported at the same hearing.
- Under Egyptian law the court sought an advisory opinion from the Grand Mufti before issuing capital sentences and the verdicts must be reviewed by higher courts, a process that will determine whether the death sentences are upheld or overturned.