AN EGYPTIAN television presenter has been sentenced to death by hanging after being convicted of drug trafficking.
Sarah Khalifa, 39, and 11 others were handed the sentence after being accused of running a criminal gang and producing narcotics.
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The well-known presenter, recognised for her work on Egyptian crime show Mission Impossible, was sentenced to “death by hanging” in a Cairo court on Saturday.
Khalifa, who has 2.5 million Instagram followers, and the 11 defendants faced charges of manufacturing narcotics and possessing firearms.
Egyptian authorities reportedly seized more than 750kg worth of narcotics and raw materials.
Cops also allegedly discovered two apartments used as laboratories, as well as unlicensed firearms and ammunition during their investigation.
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Khalifa and her co-accused were given a guilty verdict after the Grand Mufti of Egypt was consulted.
His religious opinion is required by Egyptian law in capital punishment cases.
The defendants still have the option to appeal the ruling.
Khalifa was also sentenced alongside others to five years in prison over a separate case involving the kidnapping and assault of a young man.
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When asked by the judge about her alleged role in the group, Khalifa said she had never seen any drugs before until she was photographed with them in a police station, according to state media.
Egypt reserves the use of the death penalty for premeditated murder, terrorism, some rape offences and drug trafficking.
Last year, 541 people were sentenced to death in the North African nation, according to the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms.