An investigating judge in Mount Lebanon issued an arrest warrant for George Diab, known as "Doctor Food", after five hours of questioning on allegations of assault and battery brought by his wife Shourouq Zahher.
Investigating judge Joelle Issa Khoury of Mount Lebanon heard testimony from Shourouq Zahher for two and a half hours beginning at 11:30 a.m., then questioned Diab for more than two hours. The session ended with the issuance of an arrest warrant against Diab for assault, battery and harm to his wife.
Zahher filed her initial complaint with the Ghazir police station, alleging that Diab assaulted and beat her and took money, jewellery, passports and approximately 100,000 dollars belonging to her. The case was transferred to the Jounieh judicial police unit, which arrested Diab in the village of Rahbeh.
During the questioning, the judge reviewed the contents of a USB storage device as evidence in the case. The investigation also covered aspects of the couple's marital relationship and their disagreements.
Diab's lawyer, Maurice al-Jamil, argued that no theft occurred and that the money in dispute belongs to his client. Al-Jamil contended that the allegations constituted an attempt to extort Diab and submitted his defence on that basis to the investigating judge.
Al-Jamil also stated that Zahher was not widely known before her name became linked to Diab and that her subsequent fame was tied to her association with the man known as "Doctor Food".
The questioning of Diab lasted from 2:00 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. and involved heated exchanges between the parties and vigorous legal argument by his defence counsel, before the judge closed the session with the arrest warrant.
