The law ministry yesterday suspended Prosecutor Mohammad Ali of the International Crimes Tribunal allegedly for breaching discipline and code of conduct, and for serious professional misconduct.

“He [Mohammad Ali] has been suspended from the prosecution, and a probe has been ordered over the allegations brought against him,” Law Minister Anisul Huq told The Daily Star last night.

He also said his ministry will issue a show cause notice against Ali within a day or two, seeking his explanation over the allegations.

A source at the ministry said Chief Prosecutor Ghulam Arieff Tipoo was asked to take necessary steps for a probe into the allegations and submit a report to the ministry.

The source, however, could not say anything about the deadline for turning in the report.

The action came four days after the Chief Prosecutor Office of the Tribunal wrote to the law ministry seeking "necessary actions" against the prosecutor for "breaching discipline and code of conduct, and serious professional misconduct".

On February 14, Ghulam Arieff Tipoo wrote to the ministry that Ali had recently "disobeyed" his assigned duties and tried to "exert illegal influence for securing bail for an accused in a case pending with the Tribunal".

Though the accused was not named in the letter, several prosecutors say it was Jatiya Party lawmaker MA Hannan, arrested last year for his alleged crimes during the 1971 Liberation War.

The Tribunal, however, denied him bail on February 4. On that day, the Chief Prosecutor Office withdrew Ali until further notice from all the war crimes cases he was involved with.

Ali, however, denies all the allegations against him and alleges that a group of prosecutors has raised the allegations “simply out of professional jealousy”.