Death Sentence for Sara Khalifa and 11 Defendants in the "Major Drug Case"

Cairo’s Criminal Court sentenced media personality and artistic producer Sara Khalifa and 11 other defendants to death by hanging, along with a fine of 500,000 Egyptian pounds, in the case widely known in the media as the “Major Drugs Case.” The charges included forming an organized gang specializing in importing materials used in the manufacture of narcotics, as well as trafficking, possessing, and holding unlicensed firearms and ammunition.

The court also handed down life imprisonment and a 100,000 Egyptian pound fine to several other defendants, while acquitting others of the charges against them.

The verdict was reached by unanimous consensus, following the court’s referral in August last year of Khalifa’s case and that of 12 other defendants to the Grand Mufti of Egypt to seek a religious ruling on the death penalty sentences, before setting September 5 as the date for pronouncing the judgment in the case involving 28 defendants.

In a separate case, the court sentenced Sara to three years of hard labor for allegedly filming and indecently assaulting her driver inside her private residence, while handing down seven years to two other defendants and one year to another.

Legal sources stated that Sara and the other defendants have the right to appeal the verdict before the Court of Appeal within 30 days of the issuance of the judgment’s reasoning.