Lebanese influencer Dr Food released from prison after amnesty law comes into force

Lebanese social media influencer Dr Food, whose real name is Georges Dib, was released from prison on Thursday after the country's general amnesty law came into effect. Dib had been sentenced to life in prison earlier this year for drug trafficking. His case attracted significant attention in Lebanon, as he has over 8.5 million followers on TikTok and runs a branded confectionery and pastry business.

Prosecutors accused him of hiding hundreds of kilograms of hashish inside food products to export them abroad. The arrest warrant for trafficking and smuggling drugs abroad was issued by a Lebanese judge in 2024. Over the past two years, Dib evaded justice by frequently changing locations, cars, and phone numbers while continuing to post on social media.

He even posted a video in March 2026, distributing food to displaced individuals on Beirut's Corniche during the Israel-Hezbollah conflict. Dib was arrested at his home in Akkar a month later, in June 2026. Since his crimes occurred before March 2026, the amnesty law permitted his release. The law, published in the Official Gazette on Thursday, aims to alleviate the severe overcrowding in Lebanon's prisons, which currently house about 8,500 inmates but has a capacity of only 4,500.

However, drug charges are excluded from the amnesty, along with terrorism, premeditated murder, and rape. The last amnesty of a similar scale took place in 1991 following the 1975-1990 civil war, pardoning most fighters.