Lebanese Court Removes Lead Investigator Judge Fadi Sawwan From The Beirut Blast Probe Published February 18th, 2021 - 11:52 GMT Beirut destruction caused by port of Beirut explosion (Shutterstock) Highlights All of these officials have refused to be interrogated by the judge. The Lebanese Court of Cassation Thursday issued a decision to remove lead investigator Judge Fadi Sawwan from the Beirut blast probe, a judicial source told The Daily Star. Head of the Court of Cassation Judge Jamal al-Hajjar decided to remove Sawwan and refer the probe to another judge. His decision came after former Public Works and Transport Minister Ghazi Zeaiter and former Finance Minister Ali Hasan Khalil challenged the court to remove Sawwan and filed a request back in December.