Egyptian Actor Convicted for Cannabis

FILE: Egyptian actress Menna Shalabi arrives on the red carpet during the opening of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival October 11, 2012.

Popular Egyptian actor Menna Shalabi was found guilty Thursday for cannabis possession and handed a suspended one-year jail sentence and a fine, in a case that drew widespread attention.

Shalabi, the first Egyptian to be nominated for an International Emmy Award in 2021 for her role in the miniseries "Every Week Has a Friday", was arrested in November with cannabis-infused products while arriving from the United States to Cairo airport.

Products including lollipops and other marijuana-infused snacks were found in her luggage, legal in parts of the United States but illegal in Egypt.

Shalabi was handed "a suspended sentence of one year in prison" and a fine of 10,000 Egyptian pounds ($367), a judicial official said.

Cannabis is used widely in Egypt, which launches sporadic star-studded anti-drug campaigns, including one led by Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah and another by actor Mohamed Ramadan.