In 1877, Fojnickij was appointed senior public prosecutor in Saint Petersburg.

He has been a senior public prosecutor since 1992 and has, over the course of his career, been responsible for prosecuting terrorism and organized crime cases.

The same year he became a public prosecutor in Berlin (West), was a judge and eventually senior public prosecutor of Berlin.

Mr. Mehlis said in Beirut that he had undertaken to lead the investigation for just about seven months and that after briefing the Security Council next week he would return to his position in Germany, senior public prosecutor in Berlin.