The Lebanese social media influencer known as Dr Food has been released from prison after the country's general amnesty law came into effect.
Dr Food, whose real name is Georges Dib, had been sentenced earlier this year to life in prison for drug trafficking. He was released on Thursday, with footage posted online showing him being greeted in his hometown in the northern governorate of Akkar.
The case drew considerable interest in Lebanon, with Dr Food having amassed more than 8.5 million followers on TikTok. He sells a line of branded confectionery and pastries.
Prosecutors accused him of hiding hundreds of kilograms of hashish inside products to be exported abroad.
His business dealings had been under scrutiny since 2024, when a Lebanese judge issued an arrest warrant relating to “manufacturing, trafficking and smuggling drugs abroad”. Security forces discovered sweets and food items “stuffed with drugs” at Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport that were intended for the Gulf.
Dr Food evaded justice for about two years, often changing location, cars and phone number – but continued to post on social media. In March, shortly after the latest round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah began, he posted a video on his Instagram account, which has 1.8 million followers, handing out food to displaced people on Beirut's Corniche.
A life sentence was handed down in his absence in July 2026. He was tracked down and arrested at his home in Akkar a month later.
Because his crimes were committed before March 1, 2026, he was eligible to be released under the amnesty law. The measure formally came into law on Thursday after its publication in the Official Gazette.
Dr Food had this month been granted bail in a domestic violence case brought by his former wife, but remained in jail because of the drugs case.
The amnesty law was aimed mainly at easing severe overcrowding in jails in Lebanon, which has a current prison population of about 8,500 but a capacity of only 4,500.
While those convicted of drug charges are able to benefit and be released, among the crimes excluded from the amnesty are terrorism offences, whether committed against civilians or the army, premeditated murder and rape.
Lebanon's last amnesty of a similar size came into effect in 1991 after the 1975-1990 civil war, when most fighters were pardoned.