[JURIST Europe] The European Parliament [official website] Thursday urged Senegal [press release] to provide for a fair trial of former Chad President Hissene Habre [HRW backgrounder; JURIST news archive], either in Senegal or through extradition to Belgium, which has issued an international arrest warrant [JURIST report] through its amended 2003 universal jurisdiction [Wikipedia backgrounder] laws. In a resolution [text], the parliament also asked the African Union [official website] to ensure Senegal adheres to its international obligations under the UN Convention against Torture [text]. The AU is currently reviewing the Habre case following the late 2005 ruling of a Senegalese court [JURIST report] that it had no jurisdiction over extradition.

Hissene Habre is facing charges of crimes against humanity committed by his regime during his 1982-1990 rule of Chad. Human rights group contend that those include the execution of 40,000 people and the torture of over 200,000 [JURIST report]. Habre relocated to Senengal after his ouster by current president Idriss Deby. Reuters has more.

Angela Onikepe is an Associate Editor for JURIST Europe, reporting European legal news from a European perspective. She is based in the UK.