Around the World: Death sentences over drug smuggling in Egypt

Okay, Egypt, we're gonna go to, uh, first, and this is, uh, uh, this is a drug smuggling case, and people have been sentenced to death for this.

Yeah.

So the reason this is getting so much coverage is because at the center of this particular story is a woman by the name of Sarah Khalifa.

Now, Sarah Khalifa is a 32-year-old TV presenter, right? She used to present a show called Mission Impossible, which kind of dealt with issues concerning security and crime.

Mm.

She's got two and a half million followers on Instagram, right? So she's very well known in Egypt.

Um, and obviously, when she was arrested last April, this attracted an awful lot of attention.

Um, she was specifically arrested for charges around the manufacturing and trafficking of narcotics, okay? Uh, so these are synthetic cannabinoids a- apparently, and she was one of, m- about 20, maybe 25 people who were arrested in total, and now the sentences have been handed down.

Okay? So last week, she was one of 12 people who was sentenced to death, uh, for these particular charges, um, which have been approved after the consultation with the Grand Mufti of Egypt.

He'd be one of the main religious leaders there, and he has to give his opinion i- in, in Egyptian law on capital cases.

Um, so as it stands, um, she, uh, is going to, uh, she has been sentenced to death by hanging, uh, along with 11 other people.

My word.

And can she appeal that-

Yeah

... or is that, is that the end of it?

Yeah, no, she is going to appeal it.

Um, and, um, but I don't know how much of a case she's gonna have, to be honest with you.

The evidence is fairly stacked against her.

I mean, uh, her brother, uh, was involved in it.

Her brother Mohammed, he was also sentenced to death, uh, on charges of manufacturing and testing the drugs, and her part in the, um, in the case, uh, involved financing parts of the operation and traveling abroad to meet other people who were connected to the networks and, and, and, you know, linking them with people back in Egypt, right?

Mm.

And, and when the police looked into this, they raided two apartments that were used as laboratories.

They seized more than 750 kilos of narcotics and raw materials.

Um, they found unlicensed firearms and ammunition, all sorts of things.

So it's a very big operation that was going on here, and, um, difficult to see how she's gonna get out of this.

Okay, Egypt, we're gonna go to, uh, first, and this is, uh, uh, this is a drug smuggling case, and people have been sentenced to death for this.

Yeah.

So the reason this is getting so much coverage is because at the center of this particular story is a woman by the name of Sarah Khalifa.

Now, Sarah Khalifa is a 32-year-old TV presenter, right? She used to present a show called Mission Impossible, which kind of dealt with issues concerning security and crime.

Mm.

She's got two and a half million followers on Instagram, right? So she's very well known in Egypt.

Um, and obviously, when she was arrested last April, this attracted an awful lot of attention.

Um, she was specifically arrested for charges around the manufacturing and trafficking of narcotics, okay? Uh, so these are synthetic cannabinoids a- apparently, and she was one of, m- about 20, maybe 25 people who were arrested in total, and now the sentences have been handed down.

Okay? So last week, she was one of 12 people who was sentenced to death, uh, for these particular charges, um, which have been approved after the consultation with the Grand Mufti of Egypt.

He'd be one of the main religious leaders there, and he has to give his opinion i- in, in Egyptian law on capital cases.

Um, so as it stands, um, she, uh, is going to, uh, she has been sentenced to death by hanging, uh, along with 11 other people.

My word.

And can she appeal that-

Yeah

... or is that, is that the end of it?

Yeah, no, she is going to appeal it.

Um, and, um, but I don't know how much of a case she's gonna have, to be honest with you.

The evidence is fairly stacked against her.

I mean, uh, her brother, uh, was involved in it.

Her brother Mohammed, he was also sentenced to death, uh, on charges of manufacturing and testing the drugs, and her part in the, um, in the case, uh, involved financing parts of the operation and traveling abroad to meet other people who were connected to the networks and, and, and, you know, linking them with people back in Egypt, right?

Mm.

And, and when the police looked into this, they raided two apartments that were used as laboratories.

They seized more than 750 kilos of narcotics and raw materials.

Um, they found unlicensed firearms and ammunition, all sorts of things.

So it's a very big operation that was going on here, and, um, difficult to see how she's gonna get out of this.