CAIRO: An Egyptian court has sentenced television host Sarah Khalifa and 11 other defendants to death in a major drug-related case, according to international media reports.
The 39-year-old TV host and the other defendants were convicted of forming an organised criminal group, obtaining materials for drug production, manufacturing narcotics for trafficking and possessing unlicensed firearms and ammunition.
Under Egyptian law, death sentences require a mandatory procedural step involving the referral of the case to the Grand Mufti of Egypt for a religious opinion before the verdict is finalized. The defendants have the right to appeal the ruling.
Egyptian media reported that authorities seized more than 750 kilograms of drugs and raw materials during the investigation. Two apartments allegedly being used as laboratories, along with illegal firearms and ammunition, were also reportedly recovered.
In a separate case, the court sentenced Sarah Khalifa and the other defendants to five years in prison over the alleged kidnapping and assault of a young man.
The death sentences remain subject to the applicable legal appeals process.