January 8, 2010 - Daily Star - Special Tribunal's chief investigator to step down

Chief of Investigation of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) Naguib Kaldas submitted his resignation, the court’s media office said in a statement on Wednesday. “The Office of the Prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon regrets to announce that its Chief of Investigation, Mister Naguib Kaldas, will be departing the Special Tribunal at the end of his contract on February 28, 2010 to return to his home country, Australia, where he will resume his duties as Deputy Commissioner of the New South Wales Police,” the statement said.
“It is with regret that I will leave the Tribunal and the ranks of the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) and the investigation team. But when the Prosecutor hired for the position of Chief of Investigation, I had accepted the offer with the understanding that I would serve only for one year up to the end of February 2010 and then I have to go back to my post in Australia,” Kaldas said.
He added: “I am exceptionally proud that I have served for about a year at the OTP with one of the highest caliber teams I had ever served with in such a challenging and complex investigation.
“I thank the Prosecutor, Mr. Bellemare, for having selected me as his Chief of Investigation and for providing me with the unique opportunity of being part of such an important and ground-breaking investigation.
“I am leaving with the same sense of optimism that the prosecutor has expressed about the progress we’ve made and continue to make in the investigation and I am confident that the team of professionals I am leaving behind will [finish] the job.”
According to the STL statement, Bellemare expressed regret that Kaldas would not be able to extend his contract for a further period.
“I extend my sincerest thanks and gratitude to Mister Kaldas for the significant contribution he made to the work of the OTP and for the leadership and dedication he showed during his service with us and I wish him success in his future endeavors,” Bellemare said. He added: “Kaldas will be missed but our work will go on at the pace we set for it and I soon will start the process of identifying a new Chief of the Investigation Division to replace [him].”
In other STL-related news, Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar revealed Thursday that STL head Antonio Cassesse will visit Lebanon within the coming weeks. – The Daily Star