The government yesterday removed a prosecutor at the International Crimes Tribunal for "breaching discipline and the code of conduct ”, the first such instance after formation of the prosecution team in March 2010.

Though there was no explanation of how the lawyer, AKM Saiful Islam, committed the violation, many prosecutors believe the reason might be his long absence from duty without notice.

The law ministry letter, which was sent to the Chief Prosecutor Office yesterday, reads,"... AKM Saiful Islam has been removed following the cancellation of his recruitment order for breaching discipline and code of conduct. The order will be effective immediately."

Saiful had taken a 14-day leave in early April and had not joined office afterwards. He neither renewed his leave nor informed anyone whether he would rejoin the prosecution, prosecutor H rishikesh Saha told The Daily Star.

He said Saiful did not return the official car, too. "One cannot keep a government car in his possession for a long time," Hrishikesh said. "He might have been removed for these reasons."

Saiful was the conducting prosecutor of the war crimes case against lamaat-e-Islami leader Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, who was sentenced to die for committing war crimes in 1971. He had been also handling the ongoing case against ATM Azharul Islam, another Jamaat leader.

A similar allegation was found against another prosecutor, Mir Iqbal Hossain, who took one month's leave in April, but never renewed it, said Hrishikesh.

Iqbal told The Daily Star that he was suffering from severe eye complications. "I will go to the prosecution office on Sunday. If my health does not permit, I may quit."

He added that he talked to the then acting chief prosecutor, Syed Haider Ali, and extended his leave.

With Saiful removed, the number of prosecutors now stands at 20, who are dealing with six cases at the two war crimes tribunals.